Xanthus
by TheManFromMudos
Summary: The MTAS Constantinople. Home to the greatest medical technologies known to mankind. This is the next destination of Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones, as he now desperately seeks the help of the galaxy's greatest doctors to save his late partner, Xena. Meanwhile, their son Xanthus is growing fast. But will he grow up to be just like his mum, or is he just another killer?
1. I

**Xanthus**

*NOTE – Hello, everybody, it is I, TheManFromMudos, and today I bring great news! That's right, the highly-anticipated sequel to 'Xena' has finally arrived! Now, although 'Xanthus' was originally scheduled to be written and released in mid-2017 (as I intended to first finish writing one of my other FanFictions, 'Oddworld: Al's Oddventure') I have since decided to put that story on hold, mostly because I simply couldn't wait to get to work on this. So, for the first time this year, I've put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and now, I am pleased to present to you for the first time, albeit a little prematurely, the sequel you've all been waiting for. So read on, and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

*DISCLAIMER – OK, people, you really should know the drill by now, but I'm going to go right ahead and say it anyway. Aliens: Love 'em. Fascinating, and grossly misunderstood creatures, to say the least. But, the brilliant minds behind the equally brilliant Xenomorph did not include me. That's right, I know you may find it difficult to accept, but I did not create the Xenomorph, and as such have no affiliation or ownership whatsoever to them, or any other aspect of the Alien franchise. As for the rest of it? Pure, unbridled TheManFromMudos. THANK YOU!*

 **I**

B-Beep, B-Beep, B-Beep. My eyes jolted open as my mind was suddenly flooded with noise and colour. I gasped for breath as I stared up at the glass cocoon that surrounded me. The beeping continued relentlessly, soon accompanied by the familiar 'click' of a latch being released, and the 'whoosh'of pressure escaping the tightly confined tube. I continued to breath heavily as the clear lid of the hypersleep pod slid away from the rest of the casing, allowing me to sit upright for the first time in what could potentially have been years. My eyes struggled to adjust to the bright light, but the sound of the beeping had already become much less harsh than it was initially. I looked around, trying to locate the source of the noise. My eyes finally fell upon a small speaker on a nearby dashboard. Sure enough, every couple of seconds, it let out a soft 'B-Beep', signifying that something was going on which required my attention.

Slowly getting to my feet, and with a little effort to keep my balance after so long, I made my way into the only other room aboard the craft: the cockpit. The beeping was intensified slightly in the tiny room, not least of all because another speaker on the main dashboard was chirping away loudly. Beside it, a row of three four-colour signal lights flashed periodically. The first two lights were blue, with the third an amber-tinted yellow. I knew at once that this light code signified the presence of a planet with a large man-made orbital structure. I needed only to look up slightly, gazing out of the Syracusia's sweeping windscreen, to see that the light code was correct. No more than three standard OA units ahead, but nonetheless likely to be more than a day away in a low speed craft such as the Syracusia, was a vast, ringed, dull green gas giant.

The planet seemed to rival Jupiter in size, and had a similar 'striped' appearance, though without the huge dark spots of atmospheric superstorms flecked upon it's surface. The ring system, however, would be better compared with Saturn, with the outermost rings easily spanning three times the diameter of the planet. The rings were also predominantly green, but with more of a brown tinge to them. And it was surely in one of these rings that I would find the assistance I so desperately sought. Despite how awestruck I was at the sight before me, I could not forget that. Somewhere, nestled deep into the rings of the vast gas giant before me, was the Montreal Technical Association Station Constantinople. Home to the most advanced medical technology known to mankind. If anyone could help me, it was them.

Looking around the confined cockpit of the Syracusia, I soon located a small computer screen which was tucked neatly into the main dashboard. I pulled the screen out, and watched as it slowly flickered to life. The familiar chime of the computer as it booted up played softly through the speaker grill beside it. Then, the following message displayed itself on the screen:

Deep Space Planetary Seeding and Colonisation Vessel Archimedes – Shuttlecraft Syracusia 1

Location Pinpointed: Binary Star System 954-ABA:954-ABB

Co-ordinates: 07-842:17-891:46-270

Galactic Standard Date/Time Stamp: 12th September 2319

Activating On-Board Micro AI Unit – Alpha Iota Systems Unit 42-B: 'Suzy'

"Good morning, Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones," Came an effeminate, but distinctly digital voice through the tiny speaker.

"Ah, good morning." I replied, sitting down in the cockpit's only chair as I spoke. "I don't believe we've formally met, have we?"

"With respect, sir," The voice replied hesitantly, "I'm afraid I don't understand your comment. Seeing as though I am merely an artificial intelligence, and have no physical form outside of this craft's server bank, how _could_ we possibly have met?"

"Forget it." I sighed, leaning back in the uncomfortable chair. "You know, Archie's a lot more… approachable, shall we say? Than you, that is. But who can blame you? You've clearly had much less experience with people than he has. _Anyway…_ I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me how far we are from that planet ahead."

"Not at all, sir." Suzy replied chirpily. "The Syracusia is currently 298,000 Astronomical miles, or 2.98 standard OA Units, from the outer rings of the planet 954-ABE, and a further 3 Astronomical miles, or 0.03 standard OA Units, from the Montreal Technical Association Station Constantinople. At present speed and course, we will reach the Constantinople within sixteen hours."

"Excellent." I replied. "Now, I want you to re-lock the hypersleep booths, if you don't mind. The others need to stay asleep for now. In the meantime, I'm going to perform some checks of the ship until we get a little closer to the planet. Keep monitoring our position, would you?"

"Certainly, sir." Suzy agreed. "I will summon you back to the cockpit when we are within short-range radio distance of the station."

"Thanks very much." I nodded, and with that, I slotted the thin computer monitor back into the dashboard, and got up to leave the cockpit.

As I stepped back into the living quarters-come-briefing room-come-storage bay of the miniscule Syracusia, I found myself thinking back to the Archimedes. Sure, it wasn't the roomiest ship in the galaxy, but it was a damn sight better than this claustrophobia-inducing dustbin. I considered how old Archie's crew were holding up at the moment (or what remained of them, at least). Of course, the majority of my fellow crewmen, and indeed crew-woman, had been lost to eternity. Goddard, Nicholson… Holmes. All of them had lost their lives in one way or another. Chestburster, Xenomorph, high-powered energy-burst cannon. And then there was me. The only crew member who had departed the Archimedes _without_ departing… well, life. If only the same could be said about Xena. As I passed the hypersleep booth furthest from the cockpit, I stopped for a moment, and stared down into it, my eyes falling upon my recently-deceased partner.

She was… breathtaking, to say the least. Even now, laying there lifelessly, I saw how beautiful she had been. And how beautiful she would be again. The way that her eight-foot frame had been squeezed into a six-foot hypersleep pod would be hilariously comical, if the mood were not so sombre as it was. She'd been taken from me too soon, you know. And by a man who wasn't quite insane, but who had clearly been holding back a lot of emotion as the rest of us had sat idly by, oblivious to just how much he'd truly been through in the past. I wanted to feel bad for Ryan, really I did. But how could I show remorse to a man who had killed my closest friend? And just to top this whole sorry affair off, in the booth to the right of Xena's lay Xanthus. That's right, my Xenomorph son, Xanthus. A mere child, less than a few hours of age, excluding hypersleep. But how bittersweet it was, the very idea of his existence. Every time I looked at him, I was reminded of what happened to Xena. And I told myself, no matter what he became as he grew, I would _never_ let the same thing happen to him.

"How different things would be, eh?" I quipped aloud, not really caring that there was nobody there to listen but a computer.

"I'm afraid I do not understand your question, sir." Suzy replied robotically. "Your statement requires further information to be justified."

"She sacrificed herself, you know..." I continued, ignoring the intrusive AI's distant words. "Ryan's gun was pointed at _me_ , and she took the bullet instead. She really cared about me enough to do that."

"I believe, sir, that you are referring to the events of the 21st of March 2319, on which date First Technician Ryan Goddard was killed by Senior Lieutenant Alan Grike on grounds of mutiny," Suzy interjected. "In which case, I would like to point out that the weapon used by Goddard, when he attempted to assassinate you and the organism which you colloquially refer to as 'Xena', was an energy-burst cannon, and as such no bullets were actually fired. Based on this logic, your statement 'She took the bullet instead' is inaccurate."

I had to chuckle slightly at the total lack of empathy that Suzy displayed. She was only an artificial intelligence, who could blame her? But at least Archie had always _s_ _eemed_ to show compassion, even if, in reality, it was all pre-programmed.

"You know what, Suzy?" I sighed, climbing back into my still-open hypersleep booth. "Forget I said anything. Just wake me up when we're within radio range of the Constantinople."

"Roger that, sir." She replied. "I would also like to apologise if I have offended you in any way. I cannot help my programming."

"Quite." I chuckled, pulling the glass lid of the pod down over my head. "Even you saying 'I cannot help my programming' is just another phrase you've been programmed to say, isn't it? But thanks anyway." No sooner than I had finished enunciating the final syllable of this sentence, though, the hypersleep pod lid had clicked itself firmly into place. And within moments, I found myself falling asleep once more.

It was probably about half a day later that I was at last re-awoken from hypersleep again. Technically, using hypersleep for journeys this short was incredibly damaging to one's health, but to be perfectly honest, I didn't give a shit about such issues right now.

"Good morning, sir." Suzy called out as I sat up slowly in the tight pod, already feeling the strain of short-term stasis on my body. "The Syracusia is now within radio range of the Constantinople. I have already taken the liberty of sending a docking request, however we are currently being asked to wait as a number of other requests are being processed." Stretching my arms as I stood up, I slowly stumbled my way into the cockpit of the Syracusia and gazed out of the front windscreen. Sure enough, the enormous gas giant 954-ABE was now directly in front of us. It was a truly massive planet, dwarfing everything that surrounded it. And between us and it, was the MTAS Constantinople.

The station was clearly designed to resemble a typical ground-based hospital building. It was split clearly into a number of sectors and wards, and by the looks of things it could easily house a population of 4,000, be they patients, visitors or doctors. That being said, surrounding the station, as Suzy had quite rightly pointed out, were a number of other ships. Some were huge, Almost a quarter the size of the station itself. Others were no bigger than the Syracusia. But most were mid-sized, somewhere between the Archimedes and, oh, I don't know, let's say the Pride of Jarney (a foundry ship which was about twice the size of the Archimedes, and which I served aboard in… 2298, if I remember correctly). Anyway, one thing was certain: all of these ships wanted to dock. So all I could do right now was wait for someone to give _me_ docking permission. Sit back in the cockpit's only chair, put my feet up on the dashboard, and wait until somebody would process my docking request. So that's exactly what I did.


	2. II

**II**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and I'm back once more with some fresh, new 'Xanthus'. Before that, though, I'd like to apologise for how long it's taken to get this chapter written up. I got a new laptop the other day, and after hours of tedious work, I finally realised that it will not run Microsoft Word, or any other writing software, for that matter. So, I'm back on the old laptop now, running Microsoft Word 2003 on Windows XP! Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. Anyway, don't let me keep you any longer. Read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

After a little less than five minutes of sitting and waiting in suspense, I decided it might be best to actually do something to occupy myself. The last time I visited a space station, it was the Kovacs K-76, an interim satellite for colonists visiting Thelxinoe, and I was kept on hold by the Colonial Marshall for more than three hours. Seeing the potential for a similar situation to arise here, I figured it'd be best if I found some way to pass the time.

"Suzy?" I asked, prompting the effeminate computer unit to pipe up. "Are there any books aboard?"

"Yes, sir," She replied cheerily. "There are precisely… three books aboard the Syracusia 1. Would you like to know more?"

"Please." I nodded, although I must confess my hopes weren't exactly high at this point.

"Very well," Suzy continued. "In the glove box under the dashboard is a Haynes Owner's Manual for an Antorani Ananke, first published in 2286. This book was brought aboard by Science and Medical Officer Nathan Smith after he earned his low-gravity driver's license in 2294. Beneath Hypersleep Booth 2 is a book called 'Meine Ersten Monde', first published in 2297. This book was brought aboard by a member of the ship's previous crew when the Archimedes was in temporary use by civilians of the German Colonies of Miranda in 2278. Finally, in a cabinet in the engine bay is a 2285 issue of 'Starships Today', which includes a free A3 poster of the NX Tulmorian Military Transportation Ship Deuteronomy. This book was brought aboard by Second Technician Bradley Nicholson in 2302, shortly before the magazine was axed due to low readership. Would any of these books interest you, sir?"

"Well… not really." I confessed. I didn't really fancy reading about how to properly change the wiper fluid of an Antorani Ananke, or looking at pages of statistics about ships that I'd never even heard of. And I certainly didn't relish the idea of learning all about 'die Monden von Jupiter'. So, for the next twenty minutes or so after that, I simply sat and twiddled my thumbs. I used the time to think about the state of things at the minute. Let's be honest, they weren't great. My partner was dead, my son was a Xenomorph, and to top it all off, I was sat in the cockpit of a ship where the only person to actually talk to was a computer. Yes, it was a dismal situation, and no mistake. But hey, at the risk of sounding incredibly clichéd, when life gives you lemons… You're fucked, because nobody in their right mind likes lemons.

"Tell me more about the Constantinople, Suzy." I sighed drearily. At this point, I was more bored out of my mind than actually interested in the station, but any conversation was a distraction from my own thoughts, wasn't it?

"Certainly, sir." Suzy agreed. "The Montreal Technical Association Station Constantinople is a satellite in orbit around the gas giant 954-ABE. The station's primary use is as a medical facility, of which it is renowned to be the greatest in human history. Work on the station began in 2261, under the ownership of Kovacs Extrasolar Solutions. Construction was completed in late 2263, and the station officially opened to the public in 2264, after being purchased by the newly-formed Montreal Technical Association. Today, the satellite sees an average intake of around 263 patients per day, with over 12,000 ships visiting the station per annum."

"Busy, then?" I asked, although the number of other ships surrounding the station had already answered that question.

"The station's permanent population is just under 2,000, consisting of medical scientists, dock staff, and security forces." Suzy explained. "It's total population fluctuates between around 2,700 and 3,400 people."

"Fantastic." I muttered sarcastically. "And I'm assuming the majority of these 'people' are humans, yes?"

"I'm afraid I do not understand your question, sir." Suzy replied, confused. "The station does not allow pets and has no veterinary capabilities, therefore it is entirely populated by humans."

"Not for long…" I said to myself, hoping to God that they'd let Xena aboard. I had a plan, though. I just had to avoid telling them that she was a Xenomorph until the very last minute. For as long as possible, I had to convince them she was just an ordinary, everyday, human patient. They couldn't know she wasn't human until the very moment they lay eyes upon her. By then, it would be too late for them to refuse to give assistance. I hoped.

Another fifteen minutes or so of complete silence later, I heard a distinctive sound faintly ringing in my ears. It was the sound of radio static. I glanced over at the receiver by the dashboard, and saw that a light beside the speaker grill was flashing periodically. Was it finally time? Had the Constantinople accepted my docking request?

"Suzy, is that the Constantinople calling?" I asked. When the chirpy AI replied in the affirmative, I knew that the time had come. Hesitantly, I reached out for the receiver, shakily lifting the device from it's perch. Almost immediately as I put the speaker to my ear, a gruff and quick-talking voice blasted it's way down the line.

"Hello, this is Colonial Marshall James Ericson of the Montreal Technical Association Station Constantinople, thank you for holding, please state your name, rank, ship ident and reason for docking." The voice called hastily. It took me a few moments to register what he'd actually said, but when I did, I gave my reply.

"Hi, I'm Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones of the Deep Space Planetary Seeding and Colonisation Vessel Archimedes." I announced. "My ship ident is 115935103-B. I have a civilian in desperate need of medical attention."

"Roger that, Jones." Ericson replied, almost before I'd even finished talking. "One moment. Okay, you are now cleared for docking in… Light Craft Docking Area Kepler 10, as you approach the ship dock staff will be on hand to direct you to the docking area, and assist you in your landing, I will now patch you through to Chief Medical Officer… Andrew Kelvin, who will ask you further questions about your patient. Thank you for your time, Marshall Ericson Out."

The radio then fell silent for a couple of moments, before another, much more smooth-talking voice came across.

"Hello, my name is Chief Medical Officer Andrew Kelvin." He said calmly. "I apologise for my colleague's… abrupt nature. He does have many more docking requests to process. Rest assured, you may take all the time you like with me. Now, could you please tell me your name, and the name of the person who needs medical attention, unless that person is yourself?"

"I'm Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones." I replied, oddly soothed by the man's more relaxed voice. "The person who needs medical assistance is called Xena."

"Excellent." Kelvin continued, the sound of a pen scratching against paper accompanying him. "And what is Xena's surname?" Ah. Fallen at the first hurdle. Xena had no surname. She didn't really have any name, to be honest. I was the one who'd called her Xena. Come to think of it, if I could create her first name, I could create her surname, couldn't I?

"Her surname is… Jones." I told Kelvin. "Xena Jones."

"Thanks very much." He replied, again scratching away at his notepad. "And what is the nature of Xena's injury, Matthew?"

"Well, she's… she's dead." I explained. "But I've heard that you can help with things like that."

"Ah, well that all depends on the cause of her death, sir." Kelvin noted. "How exactly did she die?"

"She was shot." I told him. "With a high-powered energy-burst cannon."

"I see." Kelvin said, murmuring to himself for a moment. "Yes, well, provided she's no visible physical damage, we can assume that the cause of death was electrocution, in which case we will be able to provide assistance."

"Oh, thank you so much." I chuckled, relieved. "I was so worried you wouldn't be able to do anything."

"Well, we can't make any promises yet, sir." Kelvin pointed out. "But we'll see what we can do. All that's left is for you to tell me the patient's height and weight, so that we can prepare a suitably-sized medpod."

"Ok." I replied, thinking carefully before I answered. "I'm not sure of her weight, but she's about eight feet tall."

"Eight feet?" He gasped suddenly. "That's exceptionally tall, even by today's standards. I'm afraid the largest medpods we have are only six-foot-five. Given the circumstances, though, that may have to suffice."

"That's fine." I agreed. Beggars can't be choosers, after all. "As long as it won't be too uncomfortable for her."

"Oh, it shouldn't be too uncomfortable." He explained. "We'll have one ready as soon as possible. Oh, one more thing, Jones. How old is your patient, exactly? If she's too young, or too old, operating may be too risky."

This was the question I'd been dreading. I could have just lied, of course. Too bad I'm an awful liar. For whilst I stuttered and started trying to think of a believable age for an eight-foot tall human being that was definitely NOT a Xenomorph, I found myself at a loss. There was only one thing for it. I'd have to tell him the truth.

"Well, erm-" I stammered, willing myself not to say it. "She's about, err…" 'Just lie, Matthew. You can do it,' I thought.

"Are you alright, sir?" Kelvin asked, clearly sensing the hesitance in my voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assured him. "She's… she's about… about two…" Kelvin fell silent at this. The very thought of an eight-foot tall, two-year old child was enough to confuse him beyond belief. But I hadn't finished yet.

"…days." I muttered weakly, and I knew immediately that I'd just gone a step too far.


	3. III

**III**

"Two days?" Kelvin repeated, his words heavy with masked anger and annoyance. "Two… I don't eve-Do you understand that most people live to eighty and never see seven feet? And you have the audacity to try and tell me that a _two- day_ old child has reached over _eight feet_ in height! What kind of fool do you take me for?" He snapped the last few words sharply. I tried to speak, but found that words failed me at this point. After all, what more could I say?

"Now you listen to me, Jones." Kelvin continued, his voice quieting almost to a whisper now. "I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but it makes me sick. Do you know that right at this very moment, there are almost a thousand people aboard this station in urgent need of medical attention? And you, you come here, distracting me from my work, putting lives at risk, thinking you can make a fool out of me? Is that it?"

"Of course not, sir." I stammered, trying desperately to defend myself. "I-"

"Just save it, alright?" He interrupted, his voice rising slightly once again. "Now let me make this perfectly clear to you, Jones: Your docking request has already been accepted, so denying you entrance to the station is beyond my control at this point. But I assure you that I will _not_ be obliged to provide you with any medical assistance whatsoever."

"But sir…" I tried once more, but Kelvin would simply not listen.

"Furthermore," He continued, ignoring my hopeless attempts to argue with him, "I shall personally see to it that the second you touch down on this station, security will perform a complete sweep of your vessel. _AND_ ,they'll be monitoring your every move after that. I don't know what you think you're up to, but I am telling you now: I will find out. Do I make myself clear?"

"Well," I attempted one final time. I-"

" _Do I make myself clear?_ " He repeated sternly. I finally realised at this point that his opinion would not be swayed.

"Yes, sir." I muttered weakly.

"Good." He muttered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have genuine medical emergencies to attend to. Good day." And with that, I heard the sound of the receiver slamming down on the other end. The radio returned to nothing but static, leaving me to slump back in my chair and take a long, hard think about what I was going to do next. 'For fuck's sake, Matthew', I thought to myself glumly. 'All you had to do was lie. So why the hell didn't you?'

There was no way I was getting out of this now. I was too close to the station to just turn the ship around and leave. I couldn't hide Xena away in some cupboard under the dashboard. And from the very moment that I touched down on the Constantinople, I'd be watched constantly, by prying security operatives and suspecting doctors. Not to mention the fact that the only reason I'd come here in the first place was so that I could get help for Xena. Fat lot of good that'd do if I had to hide her fucking corpse away the entire time we were here. There had to be some way to get past this, I pondered. But how. Perhaps I'd simply have to let security find her, and take it from there? But how could I say for definite that they wouldn't immediately force us to leave as soon as they lay eyes upon her?

Stumbling back into the main room of the Syracusia, I made my way over to Xena's hypersleep booth once again. I stared down through the thick, gleaning glass screen of the pod, and found myself worrying yet more about what was still to come. Xanthus would be fine, at least he looked like a human. For now, anyway. But Xena? Put it this way: people don't like what's different. And if you looked up 'different' in the dictionary, you'd find an addendum with her name on it. I thought as well about what Kelvin had said. I'd never really realised that she really was just two days old, yet physically, she was almost middle-aged. Even if I got her back, how long would it be before old age got the better of her? A week, two weeks? Less? It didn't bear thinking about, but at the same time, these were serious concerns that I might soon have to face.

About ten minutes later, I was back in the cockpit once again. The Syracusia was now finally within docking range of the Constantinople. I could already see a trio of dock staff gathered on a gangway outside the shuttle bay, one of which soon broke away from the others when he saw that I was approaching. He produced a pair of semaphore flags, which he then used to guide me towards a tiny landing area on his right. I'd never actually landed the Syracusia before, but it turned out to be pretty straightforward. No sooner than the craft had dropped firmly onto the support frame of the landing pad beneath it, the enormous metal doors of the shuttle bay slammed behind me with an almighty thud. A couple of landing checks later, I was ready to leave the ship, and the very moment that I opened the airlock, the man who'd helped me to dock was stood there waiting for me.

"Ah, there you are." He said quickly, reaching a hand out for me to shake. "Pleasure to meet you. Colin Brownway, Dock Sergeant. And you are?"

"Matthew Jones, Senior Navigational Officer." I replied, taking Brownway's hand with my own.

"Ah, you're Jones?" The Sergeant asked, pulling his hand away to clutch at his clipboard. "Well, I'm sorry to say, sir, but I've been told by Officer Kelvin to keep you here until a group of security operatives arrive to search your craft."

"Yes, I'm aware." I nodded, leaning back against the wall of the docked Syracusia. "Any ideas when they'll arrive?"

"Not a clue, I'm afraid." Brownway replied sympathetically. "Even so, I shouldn't think it'd be too-"

"Morning, Sergeant." A voice from the far side of the dock suddenly called out. Brownway and I glanced over in unison to the far side of the dock, from which point no less than four fully-armed security guards, three male and one female, were making their way towards us.

"Sir." Brownway replied sharply, standing to attention as the group approached. From the pack, one man marched ahead, reaching us long before the other three. He stood tall at over six feet in height, and was as thin as a pencil (and as grey as one, too). His gaze was steely and focused, almost unsettling as he towered above myself and Dock Sergeant Brownway.

"As you were, Sergeant." The man announced, prompting Brownway to relax himself.

"This is the one, sir." Brownway continued. "Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones."

"I see." The unnamed man continued. "Well, why don't you run along Brownway? There are plenty of other ships waiting to dock, are there not?"

"Right away sir." The Sergeant nodded, and with a quick salute to his superior officer, he marched off down the dock towards another craft that was approaching the station.

"Now then, Jones." The tall, thin man continued, turning his gaze towards me menacingly. "I'm Security Commander Liam Davison. I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you, but I think we both know that that would be a lie, now don't we?"

"I beg your pardon?" I gasped, astonished by the man's blatant rudeness. I was at least three ranks above him, so the least he could do was show a little respect for his superior. And I'd only just met him, for God's sake!

"Now let's get one thing straight here, Jones." Davison continued, even more malice in his voice now. "People like you _disgust_ me. Hundreds of people come to this station everyday, to have life-saving surgery and vital medical operations. But every now and then, someone like you comes along, don't they? Trying to get in under the radar, pretending they need help so that they can sneak their way aboard. Well let me tell you now: It won't work."

"I know what this looks like… _sir_." I said through gritted teeth. "But I assure you there's nothing to be suspicious of here.

"Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes, mate." Davison replied, shaking his head to highlight his disapproval. "We're going to search your craft anyway, so you might as well own up to it now. So what is it? Drug trafficking? Illegal weaponry? Or are you just trying to slip through the cracks of bureaucracy without an off-world passport?"

"Honestly, it's nothing like that." I pleaded. "In fact, I can show you my off-world passport if you like."

"Don't trouble yourself." He chuckled. "Wouldn't want to inconvenience you any further. Morcombe, Brindley, Penistone: Get in there and find out what our friend Matthew here's trying to hide." With that, the three operatives that Davison had brought along with him barged past me, forcing their way through the Syracusia's tiny doors. Now I was really for it. What would they do when they found Xena? Send us away? Refuse us assistance? Or perhaps something much, much worse…

"Well?" Davison called after a few moments. He stood guard beside me the whole time, ensuring that I didn't try to leave.

"No, sir." Was the reply called back by the female security operative. "There doesn't seem to be any…" Suddenly, her voice trailed off. It was at that moment that I knew my cover was blown.

"Jesus Christ…" I heard a male voice mumble from inside the tiny craft. "What the fuck is that?"

"What is it, what have you found?" Davison demanded, although he still refused to leave my side at this juncture.

"Sir, you'd better take a look at this." Another voice exclaimed, which finally prompted Davison to cross the threshold of the Syracusia. The moment he stepped inside, I saw his expression change, from one of resentment to one of sheer astonishment.

"S-Should we call Marshall Ericson?" One of the security operatives asked falteringly.

"No." Davison replied sternly. "Not yet." Then, he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a walkie-talkie. He pulled the retractable antenna up to full height, positioning the device close to his face. Then, he pressed the 'talk' button firmly down.

"Officer Kelvin?" He said, his voice still filled with a mixture of amazement and caution. "I think you need to come down here and see this for yourself."


	4. IV

**IV**

For several minutes after that, there was complete silence in the docking area. Well, apart from the distant sounds of other ships as they made their way into adjacent landing bays. I could also here the faint muttering of the three security operatives and their commander inside the Syracusia, all of them as confused and as awestruck as each other.

"So what is it?" One of the operatives postulated, his shrill voice echoing against the metal walls of the docking area.

"Well do you think we'd be stood here waiting for Kelvin if we knew?" Snapped another voice, in a much duller tone.

"It's obviously something serious." The female operative remarked. "Otherwise, Kelvin wouldn't be coming down here in person, would he?" But their words meant nothing to me right now. I knew what 'it' was, and I didn't need Kelvin to tell me.

"Ok, let's dispense with the chit-chat, people." Davison commanded, bringing the other operatives to silence. "What it is is none of our concern. All you need to know is that it shouldn't be here. Speaking of which…" He trailed off, the sound of his heavy hobnail boots clanging against the metal floor as he suddenly emerged from the doorway of the Syracusia.

"If this thing shouldn't be here, then the real question is: 'Why is it?'" He stepped out into the docking area at this point, slowly making his way over to where I was still stood silently.

"Well?" He insisted, leaning right into my face as he spoke. "Why did you bring it here, eh, Jones?"

"Why don't you mind your own, Davison?" I replied confidently. "As you say, it's none of your concern."

Davison's face went red with anger at this. It was always the same with people like him. Acting so high-and-mighty, thinking he had the authority to push people around just because he had a gun in his hands. It was the kind of behaviour that I just couldn't tolerate. Even so, he managed to steel himself enough to talk back to me once again.

"I think you'll find, Jones, that what people say and what people mean are two very different things." He continued calmly. "I should think that you of all people would know that."

"I may be many things, Davison, but a liar is not one of them." I replied sincerely. "Everything that I said to Kelvin over the radio was true. And until you can prove otherwise, I'd advise you to shut your mouth."

"How dare you?" He uttered through gritted teeth, his voice finally succumbing to his clearly angered state. "I will _not_ be spoken to like that, do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME?!" He practically screamed the last sentence, his face now as red as a beetroot. But before anyone could say anything else, the airlock which led out into the corridor behind us began hissing loudly.

Everyone's attention was suddenly diverted to the corner of the docking area as the airlock continued to hiss. The door began to slide to one side, revealing a figure standing in the tiny chamber behind it. As the figure stepped out, Davison's face immediately transformed from one of anger, of resentment, of unimaginable rage, to one of a total, undeniable, sniveling little kiss-arse.

"Officer Kelvin, sir!" He beamed suddenly, standing to attention and saluting the Chief Medical Officer proudly. Kelvin approached without so much as a nod of acknowledgement, clearly unfazed by Davison's blatantly obvious boot-licking. This was the first time I'd ever seen Kelvin, of course, having only communicated by radio before. He was of medium height and build, perhaps a little lean, and sported a full head of ginger hair, which extended as far as a pair of thick sideburns. Even so, the rest of his face was cleanly shaven, except of course for his eyebrows, which were long, broad and bushy.

"Enough with the formalities, Davison." He announced, storming his way up onto the thin gantry beside the Syracusia. "Just tell me what you've found."

"Perhaps you should see for yourself, sir." Davison replied, gesturing towards the open doorway. Kelvin agreed, making his way into the craft's miniscule interior. I attempted to follow, but was refused access by Davison. From where I was stood, though, I could see into the ship, so I watched as Kelvin stared down into Xena's hypersleep booth. The odd thing was that his expression didn't change at all when he saw her. He didn't gasp, he didn't gawp, he didn't so much as raise an eyebrow.

"I see." He said emotionlessly, continuing to stare blankly through the class screen of the pod.

"Would you like me to notify the Colonial Marshall, sir?" Davison asked, his hand already waiting on his walkie-talkie.

"No." Kelvin replied bluntly. "I'll take care of this."

Stepping back out onto the gantry of the docking area, Kelvin's expression remained totally unreadable. He stared at me uncomfortably for several seconds, all the while never saying a word. Then, at last, he spoke.

"Davison, I want two of your operatives to bring a stretcher and take this thing upstairs to Ward 2-74." He ordered without hesitation. "Make sure it's covered up, as well. We don't want to cause any panic."

"Roger that, sir." Davison replied. "Morcombe, Penistone, you go. There are stretchers beside the lockers out in the corridor."

"Also, tell Brownway and his men to close off this dock until further notice." Kelvin continued.

"Of course, sir." Davison agreed. "Brindley, notify Dock Sergeant Brownway that this docking area is now off-limits to visitors."

"As for you, Jones," Kelvin said calmly, as Davison continued to bark orders to his colleagues. "You'll come with me."

Without any further hesitation, Kelvin began to wander over to the airlock in the corner of the room. But I couldn't leave the Syracusia just yet. There was still the small matter of Xanthus, after all.

"Sir?" I called after Kelvin as he stormed away. "My son Xanthus is still onboard the Syracusia. I can't just leave him there." He turned around slowly, and heaved an audible sigh as he walked back over to the side of the craft.  
"Is he in hypersleep?" He enquired, his voice somewhat sympathetic in tone.

"Yes, sir." I told him, gesturing to the booth in which Xanthus was sleeping. "Please, you've got to let me take him out."

"I'm afraid there are more important things to worry about right now, Jones." He explained. "Now, the dock staff will be required to deactivate all hypersleep booths aboard your craft to remove the patient. But I assure you, after that they will be promptly resealed. Your son will be perfectly safe. Alright?" I sighed, but nodded my head in agreement. He was right, after all. I couldn't exactly concentrate my attention on Xanthus at this moment in time.

Kelvin turned once again to leave the docking area, this time with me following closely behind. We stepped out into the corridor, before immediately turning to head up a flight of stairs. At the top, we walked out into another corridor. This one was much busier than the previous corridor, with almost a dozen doctors, patients and visitors wandering up and down. Every few metres, there were a set of double doors, each of which led into another ward. Eventually, we reached another stairwell, and as we continued to proceed past floor after floor, the corridors simply got busier. After a while, though, the number of people walking about became less and less, until we finally reached a corridor that was once again completely empty. Kelvin gestured towards a small door near the end of the corridor, which bore the plaque 'Ward 2-74'.

"Here we are." Kelvin remarked, the first time he'd spoken since we left the docking area. He pushed a button on the wall, opening the door slowly, allowing me entrance to the room. I stepped in, and the first thing I noticed was that the room was actually a private area. There was only one medpod, and no doors to or from the adjacent wards. Obviously, Kelvin was serious about not letting word get out that there was a non-human patient aboard the station.

"Ah, Miss Penistone. Mr Morcombe." Kelvin said, his attention focused back on the door of the tiny room. I looked out, and saw that two of the security operatives from the docking area were stood outside with a wheeled stretcher. 'That was quick', I thought to myself. On the stretcher, a large object had been covered by a huge, white sheet. Xena. The two operatives made their way into the room, before slowly lifting her off the stretcher and into the medpod. They had to lay her on her side, of course, as the thick, black spines which jutted from her back prevented them from laying her any other way.

"Thank you very much." He told Morcombe and Penistone. "That will be all." The operatives simply nodded, and left the room with the now empty stretcher. Kelvin continued to wave them off as the door sealed itself behind them. As soon as it had fully closed, though, his gaze instantly locked onto me. Everything I had seen of Chief Medical Officer Kelvin so far had suggested a calm, cool-headed doctor who knew just what to say to keep people happy. But now, within moments, he returned to the irate, short-tempered Kelvin who I had spoken to over the radio earlier.

"Now what exactly do you think you're playing at, Jones?" He snapped, his voice filled with resentment. "Bringing a creature like that aboard this station without so much as a warning? There are civilians here, for God's sake!" I tried to remain calm, despite the officer's clear disgust at my actions. I wanted him to know why I had brought Xena here. I wanted to tell him the truth, and for him to give me the time of day to at least listen.

"Sir, you don't understand…" I pleaded, but Kelvin simply interrupted.

"Oh, I understand perfectly, Matthew." He assured me, his voice now much calmer than before. "You don't just bring a fully-grown Xenomorph aboard a medical station because you're concerned for it's wellbeing, now do you?" Suddenly, I was gob-smacked. Kelvin knew? He _knew_ that Xena was a Xenomorph? But… how? How did he know, how could he possibly know? It didn't make any sense. His words rang in my head as I tried to come to terms with the revelation.

"I know what you're thinking." He continued, nodding his head for effect. "How do I know, how could I possibly know? Well, Matthew, you're not the only one with connections. I'm assuming you _do_ have connections, of course. Otherwise… how would _you_ know?"

"I don't follow you, sir." I replied truthfully. "Connections to who?" Wandering over to the medpod in which Xena now lay, Kelvin tapped a few buttons on a screen beside it. A number of lights inside the pod suddenly flickered to life, and the lid slowly sealed itself, firmly encasing Xena's lifeless body.

"Don't play dumb with me, Jones." He continued, staring into Xena's blank face as he spoke. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You don't just stumble across these things in your everyday spaceflight. So who is it? An uncle? A co-worker? Who do you know that works for Weyland-Yutani?"


	5. V

**V**

I didn't know what to say. Not only did Kelvin know what a Xenomorph was, but he knew that they were being studied by Weyland-Yutani, as well? And now he wanted to know who _I_ knew on the inside? I was starting to think that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. But despite his overall demeanor, Kelvin seemed like a sensible bloke. Not the kind of person to go snooping around for information, poking his nose in affairs that he really shouldn't be poking his nose in. No, like myself, he must have heard it from an inside source. But just how much this source had told him, I had no idea. In order to find that out, I'd have to open up to him. If I simply told him the truth now, he'd be more inclined to do the same.

"A colleague. From the Archimedes." I told him honestly. "Chief Scientific Officer at the labs on Thedus. And you?"

"My cousin, actually." He replied hesitantly. "She's a Biological Technician on Triton. We would never openly discuss her work, of course. That's prohibited by the company. But she'd always let the odd detail slip here and there, little bits and pieces about what their 'test subjects' looked like, how they behaved and so forth. I learned enough from that to understand what they were working on. A creature of unimaginable strength, a weapon of pure chaos. It could outrun a cheetah, it could punch through a man's ribcage with it's tongue. Hell, it could even survive in the vacuum of space. But do you know something? I'd always have the tiniest shred of doubt that maybe, just maybe, what she was telling me was… a little less than truthful. Something from the realms of 20th Century science fiction. Guess not, eh?"

"Look, sir," I tried, seeing that Kelvin's opinion was leaning quite strongly to one side on this. "I know you might be skeptical, and from what your cousin's told you, you have every right to be. But Xena isn't… wasn't…"

"Wasn't what?" He frowned, furrowing his brow as he spoke. "Xena wasn't… what?" I fell silent at this. I wanted to tell him then. Tell him the whole story: that Xena was different, that she wasn't the bloodthirsty killer he thought she was. But I simply couldn't. I tried to speak, but found myself at a loss for words. He'd never believe me anyway.

"Listen, Jones…" Kelvin continued, drumming his fingers against the glass of the medpod gently. "There's no point in trying to make up some bullshit excuse as to why you've brought this thing here. I already know the real reason."

"You do?" I asked curiously, although I highly doubted that he actually _did_ understand.

"Of course I do." He replied, nodding slowly for effect. "Why else would you come here? You know about the money, don't you?"

"The money?" I asked, genuinely confused by Kelvin's remark.

"Oh, don't try and pull that one on me again, Jones." He sighed. "You know as well as I do that Weyland-Yutani'll pay big bucks for a dead Xenomorph specimen, but a live one? Your kids could retire before they'd even been born…" Suddenly, it all came flooding back to me. Yes, I knew about the rewards that Weyland-Yutani was offering for live Xenomorph specimens. That had been Ryan's plan aboard the Archimedes all along. To sneak a young Xenomorph through security on Earth whilst it was still inside Cara's stomach. Funny how things work out, though, isn't it? The Xenomorph that he was originally going to sell was now laid dead in a medpod, whilst another clueless idiot was trying to turn a profit on her.

"I'm going to level with you here, Matthew." Kelvin continued, interrupting my train of thought. "It seems like a whole lot of trouble for me to go through, bringing this creature aboard the station without the permission of the Colonial Marshall, putting you up in a private suite to conceal it from everyone else. Not to mention performing complicated and expensive medical procedures to re-animate the specimen. All of this effort surely deserves compensation, now doesn't it?" I knew exactly what he was getting at now. He wanted a cut, a little slice of the money for his troubles when I eventually cashed 'it' in. I wasn't sure how to respond at first. If I told him I wasn't planning on taking Xena to Weyland-Yutani after he'd revived her, then he wouldn't revive her. On the other hand, if I told him I was planning on taking her to Weyland-Yutani, but that he couldn't have a cut of the money, he'd also refuse to revive her. There was only one thing for it: tell him I was going to take Xena to Weyland-Yutani, and that he _could_ have a cut, then doing a runner after he'd performed the medical procedures.

"How much do you want?" I asked coolly, trying to make myself sound more convincing.

"Twenty percent." He demanded. Initially, I considered just agreeing to this. I wasn't _actually_ going to give him twenty percent, after all. Then I realised that if I simply went along with what he wanted, he might be skeptical over my willingness to give up the money so easily. I had to barter if I wanted him to believe me.

"Ten percent." I replied calmly.

"Sixteen." He said, refusing to stoop as low as half of his original offer.

"Twelve…" I continued, rather enjoying our little bartering match, although in truth it meant nothing.

"Hmm…" Kelvin sighed, becoming slightly irritated now. "Fifteen percent, final offer."

"Done." I nodded, after a short pause to 'mull it over'. "Fifteen percent. Provided the job's done promptly and properly."

"Oh, don't you worry, Mr Jones." Kelvin said slyly, shaking my hand on the deal. "When we're finished with her, it'll be like she was never dead in the first place." He grinned sinisterly, an expression that made me want to judder in disgust. He walked over to a desk in the corner of the room, and sat down at it, lifting a large telephone-like receiver from the wall beside him.

"Just give me a few minutes, and I'll have someone on the case." He explained, pressing a few buttons on the device.

"You're not going to conduct the procedure yourself, sir?" I enquired.

"Oh no, I'd rather not… get my hands dirty, so to speak." He told me. "But don't worry. I know just the man to do it." Suddenly, he stuck his index finger into the air to end the conversation, presumably because somebody on the other end of the telephone line had picked up.

"Hello, Ward 1-56 please." He told the unnamed operator. He then fell silent for a few more moments, until someone on the other end took his call.

"Ah, Yosuke." Kelvin announced cheerily. "Busy? Yeah, tell me about it… Well that's what Mary told me. No, I don't think so… Did she? That's excellent! No, honestly, well done, mate. You'll be sure to let me know when it arrives, right? And I-"

"Ahem!" I coughed loudly, not particularly wanting to listen to Kelvin having a chat with his mates at a time like this.

"Listen, Yosuke." He continued, shifting the conversation back to the matter at hand. "I need you to come up to Ward 2-74. I've got a patient here in need of a Cognitive ReStim op. Might take a couple of days. Yep. Mm-hmm. Ok. Thanks, mate." He gave me a quick thumbs up, and after a couple more words were exchanged, he put the receiver back on it's hook. Then he told me we had little more than a few minutes to wait, during which time we scarcely spoke a word to each other.

About five minutes of silence later, the quiet air of the room was finally disturbed by a loud knock at the door.

"That'll be him, now." Kelvin said, before announcing "Come in!" The door was then slowly opened, and a thin, dark-haired man in a lab coat walked in. He was about the same height as me, and appeared to be of Asian descent. Kelvin walked over to greet him, ensuring the door was firmly shut behind.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice." Kelvin nodded, giving the man a quick handshake. "Now then. Jones, this is Doctor-Professor Yosuke Hinkonnoshi. Doctor-Professor, this is Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones."

"How do you do?" Hinkonnoshi asked, reaching a hand out for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you." I replied whilst accepting his handshake. "Forgive me for being so forward, Doctor-Professor, but isn't 'hinkon no shi' Japanese for 'death and poverty'?"

"It's 'death _in_ poverty', actually." He chuckled in reply. "Don't ask why, I couldn't tell you. But don't worry about it, I get it all the time. I've just never seen any reason to have it changed."

"I see." I smiled. "Well, it's… unique, isn't it? Whereabouts in Japan are you from, then?"

"Oh, I wasn't actually born in Japan." Hinkonnoshi replied. "In fact, I've never actually been to Earth at all. I'm from Torakeigo."

"Ah, that's one of the 12 Indo-Japanese colonies of Callisto, isn't it?" I asked.

"That's right." He continued. "I've always wanted to visit Japan, though. Or anywhere on Earth, for that matter. But what about you, sir? Where do you hail from?"

"Me?" I remarked. "I'm from Yorkshire, in England."

"I see." Hinkonnoshi nodded. "Then you are very lucky, sir."

"How do you mean?" I enquired, confused by the Doctor-Professor's statement. I wasn't _that_ lucky to be born in Yorkshire.

"Because, sir, you have seen the Earth." He explained. "You have seen nature as it should be, green fields and rolling hills. No terraforming, no playing God. I think that's pretty special."

"I suppose you're right." I nodded. I'd never really thought about the Earth like that before. Lush and green, the way nature intended it. The Earth hadn't been changed, at least not as drastically so as the other planets and moons of the Solar System.

"Look, I don't mean to disturb your little heart-to-heart," Kelvin interrupted suddenly, "But I think, Doctor-Professor, that you'd better take a look at your new patient."

"Good lord…" Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi said, staring in shock and awe at the creature which was slumped in the medpod before him. "Sir, I'm afraid I don't understand. I'm not qualified in veterinary science, or-"

"Oh no, no no no, Doctor-Professor." Kelvin explained. "It's quite alright. I'd like you to perform the procedure exactly as you would with a human patient."

"And this is a Cognitive Re-Stimulation operation, yes?" He asked.

"It is." Kelvin assured him.

"Then how will I apply the eye drops?" He remarked curiously. "Or insert an ear probe?"

"I trust, Doctor-Professor, that you will find a way." Kelvin smiled. "You are an expert, after all."

"Well, that's very kind of you to say so, sir," Hinkonnoshi replied. "But I-"

"Enough, Yosuke." Kelvin replied sternly. "You will do what you can, do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Hinkonnoshi agreed sheepishly. "But may I at least ask why you need me to revive this… creature?"

"No, you may not." Kelvin said, shaking his head. "All you need to know, Yosuke, is that it is vital that you restore the patient to full health. And another thing-"

"Officer Kelvin!" A loud voice suddenly interrupted, originating from outside the room.

"No, don't open it!" He snapped, seeing that I had turned my attention to the door. "Nobody else may enter this room. Nobody. Understand?" He walked closer to the door, leaning up against it to hear the voice on the other side.

"What is it?" He called back, his hand against the door lock mechanism just in case it was required.

"Colonial Marshall Ericson needs to see you immediately, sir." The voice explained. "Somebody's just been found dead outside Light Craft Docking Area Kepler 10."


	6. VI

**VI**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and I'm here once again with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. I'd like to apologise for the radio silence on my end, if you will, in terms of my lack of forewords on the last few chapters. I don't want anyone to think that I'm losing my enthusiasm for the series. Honestly, I'm more excited for what's coming up next than I was for most of 'Xena'. Apart from the moment where Matthew finally kisses Xena, of course. Now _that_ was a much-awaited moment for all of us. Anyway, the point is, I am still here on the other end, as enthusiastic as ever. And I hope that you are, too! So please, don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts and feelings on the story so far. For now though, let's get back to it. This chapter's a little shorter than usual, but hopefully it's enough to keep you interested. So read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

"Somebody's been found dead?" Hinkonnoshi repeated, an air of confusion in his voice. Kelvin's face, however, was much less puzzled. I could immediately tell that he knew something suspicious was afoot.

"Well, do you know who it is?" He asked calmly, albeit with the slightest hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yes, sir." The voice on the other side of the door replied. "It's Professor Oldman." There were a few moments of awkward silence then. I suspected that both Kelvin and Hinkonnoshi already knew the man well. Perhaps he was a mutual friend, or a superior medical officer to themselves. Either way, that made no difference to anyone anymore, did it?

"I see." Kelvin eventually continued, but only after inhaling a deep breath. "And are you aware of the cause of death?"

"Yes, sir." The man repeated, his tone suddenly much sterner. "That's _why_ the Colonial Marshall needs to see you."

Once again, unnerving silence filled the room. Kelvin, Hinkonnoshi and I simply glanced back and forth between each other. Hinkonnoshi, of course, was pretty much clueless, but Kelvin seemed to suspect something. I myself was also running through possible scenarios in my own head. If this was a matter that required the Colonial Marshall's attention, then it was far more serious than a patient on his last legs finally giving out. I dared not think that this had anything to do with… well, you know. Then again, it couldn't be, could it? It wouldn't make any sense, unless-

"I'll be right down." Kelvin announced abruptly, interrupting my train of thought. "Tell Marshall Ericson not to allow anyone to interfere with the body until I can examine it properly." The voice outside the door agreed, and the sound of footsteps fading away into the distance told us that whoever it was had now gone.

"I'd better go and see to this." Kelvin said, making his way over to the door. "I may be gone for some time. Doctor-Professor, I'll need you to prep Jones' patient. Take some pre-op scans, have the appropriate equipment brought up, and, uh, make me a coffee." He gave the Doctor-Professor a quick nod, and then turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Officer Kelvin," I began. "I need to come with you." I had to know what had happened. Just to put my mind at rest.

"I beg your pardon?" He replied, confused. "In what respect do you _need_ to come with me, eh, Jones? What expertise do you think you could bring to the table?"

"My son's still down there." I explained. "If something strange is going on, I have to know that he's alright."

"Well…" Kelvin sighed, thinking the whole thing over. "I suppose so. But I'll warn you now, Jones…" He stepped closer to me, whispering in my ear so that Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi couldn't hear him.

"You do _not_ mention the nature of your patient, or of our… arrangement, to anyone." He continued. "Is that clear?" I agreed, and with that, Kelvin and I left the ward, leaving Hinkonnoshi alone to prepare Xena for… well, whatever they were going to do to her.

The walk back down to the docking area was once again carried out in complete silence. Kelvin led me down stairways and corridors, twisting around corners here, there and everywhere, with an equal lack of communication between us as before. As we walked, though, I kept thinking that same thought in my head. Over and over again, this sinking feeling that I just couldn't shake. But it simply couldn't be. We'd only gotten here half an hour ago, and it couldn't have happened that quickly, surely. Last time, it was an hour or two, at least. Even so, I couldn't help think it. What else could it be, after all? People don't just drop dead. And even if they did, it wouldn't warrant the attention of a Colonial Marshall _and_ a Chief Medical Officer. Whatever suspicions I had, though, I knew that they'd be cleared up as soon as I saw the victim.

No sooner than we had rounded the corner of the final corridor before the docking area, it became clear that this casualty was being taken _very_ seriously. Several members of both the docking staff and security taskforce were congregating at the end of the corridor. Most of the corridor was cordoned off, although of course, Kelvin and I were let through immediately. As we approached the site of the death, my eyes fell upon the body in disbelief. It was a gruesome sight, to be sure. Blood trailed it's way down the corridor away from the body, which had been torn apart viciously. I felt truly sorry for the man, not that the body I was staring down at could be recognised as a man _or_ a woman. Any and all distinguishing features were destroyed. He had no hair, no eyes, even his teeth had been removed from his mouth, although some of these were scattered across the ground around him. I'd only ever seen injuries like this once before, and even then it was much less severe. But the truth was undeniable: this man, whoever he was, had been murdered. And no human could have left him quite so disfigured…

"Well?" A voice called from behind. I turned around to see a man in a Marshall's uniform standing a little way down the corridor.

"Marshall Ericson." Kelvin replied, shaking the man's hand as he approached. "I came as quickly as I could."

"And rightly so." Ericson nodded. "This is an urgent matter, after all. Now tell me, Kelvin. What do you think happened here?"

"Well, it's quite clearly murder, isn't it, sir?" Kelvin asked. "And a bloody brutal one, by the looks of it."

"You don't have to tell _me_ that." He agreed. "Anyway, whatever it was that killed Professor Oldman here, it clearly wasn't a human."

"You think there's been a quarantine breach?" Kelvin postulated. He shot me a look that told me to keep my gob shut. After all, he and I both knew already that there definitely _had_ been a quarantine breach.

"What else could it be?" Ericson continued. "Besides, th-Hold on a minute. Who the hell are you?" He stared at me coldly, seemingly disgusted by my presence.

"Oh, this is Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones." Kelvin explained.

"Ah, yes, you're the one from the Archimedes, aren't you?" He asked. "Well, I'm sorry Jones, but this area should be cordoned off from civilians. What exactly are you doing here?"

"He needs to unpack some stuff from his craft." Kelvin replied hastily, before I even had a chance to open my mouth. "Don't you, Matthew?" He glared at me, silently telling me to go along with his lie.

"Uh… yeah, that's right." I agreed. "My, um… my partner-uh, patient, sorry, is going to be here for a… a few days."

"Fair enough." Ericson replied. "Hadn't you better get to it, then?" I nodded weakly, and as he proceeded to return to his conversation with Kelvin, I slipped away down the corridor and through the doors of the docking area.

The dock was much quieter now than it had been when I arrived. No dock staff bustling about, no roaring engines of other ships coming in to dock. The only sound was that of my footsteps echoing against the cold, metal floor. The Syracusia stood alone at the far side of the bay, exactly as I'd left it. I approached the craft slowly, making my way up the gangway towards it's only airlock. I pressed the button in front of me down firmly, and the door slowly slid itself open. The inside of the main room was completely dark, save for the bright light of the docking area shining in through the tiny door. I stepped inside, hearing the soft clinking of glass beneath my feet as I did so.

"Suzy?" I called out quietly. Suzy did not reply, although a gentle hum began to emanate from the generator at the back of the ship. The lights suddenly flickered to life, dazing me for a couple of seconds. As soon as my vision returned to me though, my face fell in horror at what I saw.

The sound of glass beneath my feet had actually been caused by one of hundreds of shards which littered the ground. Some of the pieces were tiny, no bigger than a pea, whilst others were several inches long. They all surrounded one of the three hypersleep booths aboard the craft. It was Xanthus' booth. I really wanted to believe that I was imagining it at this point. That it was all in my head, that I was dreaming or _something_. But I couldn't deny what I saw. The hypersleep booth was empty. Directly in the centre of the thick glass screen was a wide hole, the cause of the scattered shards on the floor around me. The glass must have been broken from the inside. And that could only mean one thing. That Xanthus had woken up. And something told me that he didn't take after mummy…


	7. VII

**VII**

I simply couldn't understand it. How could Xanthus have killed someone? How could he have even gotten out of his hypersleep booth in the first place? It was firmly sealed; it had been since the moment we'd left the Archimedes. Then again, I did recall Kelvin telling me that the dock crew would have to deactivate the booths to release Xena. Was it possible that they hadn't made sure they were closed again before leaving? I called out for Suzy once again, but there was still no reply. 'Looks like you've got to do this the old-fashioned way, Matthew', I thought to myself. Crouching down on the floor beside the hypersleep booth, being careful to avoid getting a shard of thick glass lodged into my kneecap, I fumbled around the underside of the pod, until my fingers fell upon a row of tiny square buttons. Pushing down one of the buttons caused a singular loud beep to sound through the room. Pushing a couple more buttons gave the same result, and finally, the sound of machinery whirring inside the pod told me that I had been successful.

A few moments later, a small hatch at the foot end of the hypersleep booth opened, and a thin piece of white paper began to work its way out through the slot. As it was pushed along by the printer's internal workings, black ink began to cling to the fragile material. Eventually, a long string of paper had ejected itself from the machine, leaving me to tear it away along the serrated edge. I held the paper up close to my face, struggling to see the tiny writing. For the most part, the data was pretty unremarkable. It simply listed every day that the booth had been in use since leaving the Archimedes, followed by the words 'BOOTH ACTIVE'. However, upon reaching the bottom of the list, the date printed being the 12th of September 2319, the words had changed to 'BOOTH DEACTIVATED'. Indented below this was the exact time that the pods had been opened, followed by the text 'BOOTH AWAITING REACTIVATION…'. So that was that. When the dock staff had come in to let Xena out of her hypersleep booth, they hadn't remembered to reseal them afterwards. Great. Just fucking great.

But that, oh _that_ , was only the half of it. Xanthus was less than a couple of hours old. I knew that Xenomorphs grew quickly, of course, but this was ridiculous. And be that as it may, Xanthus still had the physical form of a human. No human could break through three-inch glass _and_ kill a man in the space of half an hour. I had in the back of my mind the strangest image of some half-human, half-Xenomorph monstrosity prowling the station. The thought of a toddler-sized Xenomorph was certainly a bizarre one, almost to the point of hilarity. But given the fact that somebody had already died at the hands of this creature, I knew that what we were dealing with here was a force to be reckoned with.

"Listen to me," I murmured glumly, thinking aloud. "Creature. Monstrosity." The words stuck in the back of my throat. I'd never even dream of describing Xena using such language. And Xanthus was my son, my flesh and blood. But the sad fact was that if he was nothing more than a mindless killer, then he was no better than your average bloodthirsty Xenomorph.

After several more long moments had passed in silence, I finally decided that it was time to leave the Syracusia. I needed to go to Kelvin, or Ericson, or someone. They had to be warned that Xanthus was loose on the station. I stepped out onto the metal gangway beside the craft and turned to close the door behind me. All the while, though, unnerving thoughts were racing through my head. If I told Kelvin that Xanthus was the one who had killed Professor Oldman, he'd flip his lid. He already knew that Xanthus was my son, and it wouldn't take long for him to put two and two together, figure out that Xena was my partner, and then send the pair of us packing, not to mention hunting down and killing my son. On the other hand, if I didn't warn anyone of the potential havoc that Xanthus would go on to wreak, how could they prepare themselves for what was to come? I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but at the same time, this was my child we were talking about here. How could I value his life with any less regard than that of others because of his basic instincts?

"You in here, Jones?" Kelvin called, suddenly breaking the silence of the room. I turned my head slightly to see that he was stood by the airlock at the far side of the docking area.

"Here, sir." I called back, poking my head around the corner of the Syracusia sheepishly.  
"Ah, there you are." He replied, stepping slowly closer to the craft. "Well?"  
"Well what?" I asked, confused by the man's quick, one-worded question.

"Is your son alright?" He explained. "Still safe in hypersleep?"

"Oh, right!" I exclaimed, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. I paused for a few seconds, then. This was the deciding moment. Did I tell him or didn't I? It was now or never, and I had to choose: put Xanthus in danger, or the whole crew of this station. 'What to do, Matthew?' I thought silently. "What to do, what to do, what to do…"

"He's fine!" I blurted out, almost shouting the words at Kelvin. "Yeah, h-he's alright."

"Okay…" Kelvin replied slowly. Suddenly, my muscles tensed up. I feared that he would see through my lie, that he'd know something strange was afoot. And if he did, then me, Xena, and any hopes of bringing her back to life were out the window.

"Anyway," He finally continued, a huge feeling of relief washing over me. "I've seen all I need to see down here. We can head back up to your ward whenever you're ready."

"I see." I replied. But one thing was still bugging me, and I had to ask, just to put my mind at rest.

"Sir?" I enquired. "What's going to happen to Professor Oldman?"

"Oh. Well," He began, sighing deeply as he did so. "Unfortunately, we lose patients all the time. It's just a shame that the Professor was only a couple of weeks away from being discharged."

"Patients?" I asked, puzzled. "I was given to understand that he was a doctor here."

"Oh, no." Kelvin explained. "Sadly, Oldman was in no fit state to work as a medical officer. Or indeed, any officer, for that matter. He _was_ one of the greatest minds on the station back in his heyday. Recently, though, he's been fighting a losing battle with dementia. We wrote to what remains of his family on Themisto, told them that we'd look after him until they could come and collect him. They were due to arrive the Tuesday after next. Funny how things work out, isn't it?"

"Hmm." I nodded, my heart sinking at Kelvin's story. As if I hadn't felt bad enough about my son killing a man before, now I learn that he was an innocent old bloke who probably didn't even know where he was. Despite this, though, I still managed to keep my cool, and refused to allow myself to reveal the truth to Kelvin, at least for the time being. Even so, deep down, I knew that if Xanthus was to strike again, the others would simply have to know about him.

"Well, enough with all the doom and gloom, eh?" Kelvin continued. "After all, it won't happen to us, will it? Once we've finished with your patient, we'll be laughing. Just think: I'll finally be able to get off this godforsaken satellite and retire in peace, to the golden beaches of Spraxico, Europa." A huge grin came across the man's face at this. Although I'd only been on the Constantinople for a short time, I had really come to resent that ginger prick. How could he even think about such things at a time like this? Still, I suppose when you've spent your entire life seeing patients die before your eyes, death eventually loses its sting. That, and the fact that it wasn't _his_ Xenomorph child that had just murdered someone in cold blood.

"Anyway, we'd best be getting back." Kelvin continued, his expression becoming more serious. "Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi will have prepared your patient for the operation by now." Despite my glumness, hearing this certainly perked me up. The thought that Xena could soon be back with me once again was enough to lift my spirits sky-high.

A few minutes later, and for the third time that day, Kelvin and I silently made our way through the Constantinople's maze of corridors. The halls were much quieter now, particularly on the lower floors. Bad new travels fast, after all, and nobody wanted to be alone in the corridors when there was a killer on the loose. To be honest, I was pretty amazed that Kelvin hadn't tried to put the blame on me. I mean, he knew as well as I did what Xenomorphs were capable of, yet he hadn't once questioned whether there was some link between my arrival with Xena and the murder of Professor Oldman. Then again, common sense probably told him that a dead Xenomorph couldn't kill somebody. Still, he hadn't suspected that my other passenger might have been at fault, and when I told him that Xanthus was still safe in hypersleep, he hadn't batted an eyelid. I wasn't worried about that right now, though. I was more excited by the fact that within just a few hours, Xena might be alive once again. I could speak to her. I could hold her in my arms. We'd be reunited once again, and I simply couldn't wait!

When we finally reached Xena's ward, Hinkonnoshi was leaning over the medpod wearing a pair of latex gloves and a surgical apron. He turned around when he heard the door open, revealing a long, thin needle that he brandished in his hand.

"Is the patient ready, Yosuke?" Kelvin asked as he made his way over to the medpod.

"Almost, sir." Hinkonnoshi explained. "The scans were pretty hazy: the X-ray was unable to go through the creature's tough exoskeleton. The CT scan was partially successful, though, and I believe that I have located the brain."

"Excellent." Kelvin replied. "And is the ReStim machine ready?"

"It is." He nodded. "It's just over there, if you wouldn't mind setting it up. I'm just about to make the incision now."

"Wait, hold on." I interrupted. "Incision? How are you going to get that needle through her exoskeleton."

"Oh, it's quite simple, Mr Jones." Hinkonnoshi assured me. "There is a soft spot where the patient's eyes should be."

I felt nauseous just hearing him say it. Xena didn't even have eyes, but the thought of a needle being stuck where they should be was dizzying. And the more I thought about it, the more it made me want to throw up. I'd seen some shit, and I mean some really gruesome shit, but I just couldn't stand needles and eyeballs. An unpleasant combination, to say the least.

"I will now insert the needle." Hinkonnoshi announced, as if I really wanted him to talk me through every sickening moment of the procedure. I placed a hand over my eyes as he shoved the pointed rod deep into Xena's eye socket. I was just about to remove it again when I heard him ask Kelvin to "Pass the electrode." I dreaded to think what they were doing to poor Xena.

"You can open your eyes now, Mr Jones." Hinkonnoshi assured me. I did, but the sight before me was simply too horrific to look at. Protruding from Xena's face was a thin wire, which ran from her eye socket to the ReStim machine. I hadn't realised until now that 'Cognitive Re-Stimulation' was actually fancy science talk for 'Brain Electrocution'!

"This isn't going to hurt her, is it?" I asked, then immediately fell silent as I realised my mistake.

"Why should you care if it hurts it or not?" Kelvin asked. "It's just a mindless animal, anyway." His words infuriated me, but I steeled myself. If I showed any kind of sympathy for Xena, any _at all_ , then my cover was blown.

"Just wondering." I mumbled, trying to explain away my recent enquiry. "And how long will it take?"

"Normally, the procedure lasts a few hours." Hinkonnoshi explained. "But it's likely that, given the patient's anatomy, she will be more resilient to electrical stimulus. For this reason, it could potentially take several days."

"Days?!" I exclaimed. But what would I do until then? Where would I sleep? What would I eat? I didn't have any money.

"Relax, Matthew." Kelvin sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder as he spoke. "I'll sort out some accommodation for you."

"Well, that's very kind of you, sir." I replied. "But I can't afford to pay."

"Oh, I shouldn't worry too much about that, Matthew." Kelvin assured me, grinning sinisterly once again. "Something tells me you'll be able to provide recompense soon enough…"


	8. VIII

**VIII**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and I'm back again today with the latest chapter of 'Xanthus'. But first, good news! 'Xena' has now officially amassed over 33,400 total views. That's more than the total number of words in my first FanFiction story, 'Oddworld: Al's Oddysee', which came in with a total word count of 33,319! Given the huge popularity of 'Xena', I was only too happy to keep the story going, and the same is true today. So, that being said, here it is: a fresh chapter of 'Xanthus'. So read on, and enjoy. THANK YOU!*

After this not-so-subtle statement, Kelvin left the ward without another word. No sooner than the room's thick, metal door had slid shut behind him, Hinkonnoshi was stood beside it, making sure it was securely locked. A few moments later, he was back over at the medpod once again, this time with the ReStim machine wheeled right up beside him. He fiddled with a few dials on the short machine's front panel, all the while never saying a word, and jotted down a couple of numbers which were displayed on a tiny, LED display bar just above them.

"So, uh, Doctor-Professor?" I asked, trying not to distract the man too much as he worked.

"Is there something bothering you, Mr Jones?" He replied politely.

"Oh no, not at all." I assured him. "I was just wondering… how exactly does this procedure work?"

"Ah, I see." Hinkonnoshi nodded. "Of course, it's only natural that you should want to know more about the process. Well, it's quite simple, really." He tapped the top of the ReStim machine with one hand, and pointed to a large dial on the front with the other.

"This machine is an Electrical Re-Stimulation Device." He explained. "It can administer and maintain a constant electrical current at varying degrees of intensity depending on the procedure's specific needs."

"Right…" I nodded, although I had already gotten the basic grasp of _what_ the machine did. I was more concerned with _how_ it did it. I asked him again, ensuring my question was more clearly worded this time.

"There are two methods that can be used to jump-start cognitive activity in the brain." Hinkonnoshi told me. "Traditionally, the patient would be given a short, sharp shock of several hundred volts, which would instantaneously 'jolt' dead brain cells back to life, in layman's terms. However, this process was not only dangerous, with many patients being electrocuted to death immediately after being revived, but also very taxing on the equipment, which is expensive enough as it is."

"So how do you do it these days?" I enquired, intrigued by the whole process, however morbid it was.

"Well, some hospitals still opt for the original method, as it's quicker and easier for newer doctors to perform." He explained. "On the Constantinople, however, we use the new system. We begin by introducing a low-voltage current to the patient's brain. This allows the brain cells to 'wake up' slowly rather than suddenly. Over time, we gradually increase the voltage, until the patient's brain activity is at an appropriate level. We then carefully disconnect the wire from the brain, and dress the wound so that it can heal."

"Okay, I think I've got it." I said, running through the whole process once more in my mind. "I do have one more question, though. Why will it take longer for Xena- the, uh, patient, that is. Why will it take longer than usual?"

"Well, sir," Hinkonnoshi continued. "Unfortunately, your patient does not fit the criteria of a 'human'. As such, we must proceed under the assumption that she is an animal. As we do not possess the necessary equipment to perform Re-Stimulation on animals aboard the station, we have no choice but to use the more highly-powered human ReStim machine, whilst proceeding with extra caution, of course. The closest animal match that I could make to the patient was that of a human-sized mammal, so the respective conditions will be used."

"Fair enough." I sighed. I didn't like the way that the Doctor-Professor categorised Xena as an animal, but at least he was honest. And I didn't want to run the risk of causing any more harm to her by having her treated as a human patient. All I cared about right now was that Xena would be alive and well again, regardless of how long it took.

For the next few moments, Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi fell silent. After a couple more checks, and a few more notes from the ReStim machine's readout, he flipped a switch on the back of the machine. A faint whirring began, followed by a loud 'ping'. He then grabbed hold of a large dial on the machine's front, and turned it anticlockwise 90 degrees, until an audible click was heard. Finally, he pressed some numbered buttons on a keypad beside the dial, and stepped back.

"There we go." He beamed, wandering over to the desk in the corner of the room. "She'll be right as rain in a few days."

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" I asked. "Just sit around and wait until she wakes up?"

"I'm afraid that's all we _can_ do, sir." Hinkonnoshi told me. "I've been instructed by Mr Kelvin to keep a close eye on the patient until the procedure is complete, so I won't be leaving this room unless it's a matter of urgency."

"Well, I can't exactly go anywhere, either." I assured him. "At least not until Kelvin's found me somewhere to sleep."

"You must forgive Officer Kelvin, Mr Jones." Hinkonnoshi told me. "He may seem a little bitter, but he means well."

"I'm sure he does." I agreed, deciding it was probably best _not_ to tell him that I knew Kelvin was actually a sly, conniving, money-grubbing old- Look, he was a bastard, alright? But I didn't want to say that in front of Hinkonnoshi. He might figure out that something strange was going on. Then again, he _was_ sitting in the same room as a dead Xenomorph right now, so…

"Mr Jones?" Hinkonnoshi repeated, probably for the third time in a row, although I hadn't heard him the first two times.

"Yes, sorry?" I asked, snapping out of my needlessly over-complicated thoughts.

"I said 'Would you like a cup of coffee?'" He explained. "You look like you could use a hot drink."

"Oh, I'd prefer tea, if it's not too much trouble." I requested. "Well, as long as the bags are good. The ones on the last ship I served on were sh… not good."

"Very well, sir." Hinkonnoshi nodded, walking over to a cupboard on the other side of the room. "I can't help but agree with you, though. There's nothing worse than a bad cup of tea."

"That there isn't…" I replied, chuckling slightly. "That there isn't." Hinkonnoshi said something else at this point, although his voice was drowned out by the noise of a large, grey kettle which he had flipped on beside him. I sat quietly as he prepared our drinks, and soon, he came back over to the desk, a small, metal tray in his hands. He placed on the desk before me a mug of fresh, hot tea, and a small plate of biscuits, which I graciously tucked into. Then, after taking the tray away, he came back with his own mug, and sat down behind the desk as he took a quick sip.

"So, Mr Jones," Hinkonnoshi began, placing his mug down beside him and leaning back in his chair. "You're a tea man, eh?"

"Oh, yes." I assured him. "Runs in the family. My dad always preferred a milky coffee, though. What about yourself?"

"I'll take either." He told me, taking another drink from his mug. "So long as I've got the right biscuit to go with it." I nodded in agreement, and took a sip from my own mug. I had to admit, it was a pretty nice cup of tea, and talking to Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi over something as trivial as tea and biscuits really helped to take my mind off things. I felt a faint bond between us then. Hinkonnoshi spoke to me in a friendly manner, not at all like Kelvin, and certainly not like Davison.

"Well, Doctor-Professor-" I began, taking a huge gulp of my tea before I did so.

"Please," He interrupted, "You may feel free to call me Yosuke."

"If you insist." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "You can call me Matthew, if you like. Anyway, Yosuke… you sure make a mean cup of tea." I raised my mug in the air in a silent toast, and he did the same. I took another drink, wiping my mouth against my sleeve in a slovenly manner as I did so. Yosuke didn't seem to mind, though. A few minutes later, we finished our drinks, and he graciously agreed to take the dirty crockery away. In the meantime, I stared over at the medpod in which Xena still laid. The ReStim machine still whirred quietly as it pumped volt after volt of electricity into her brain. I desperately longed for her to be better, to see her alive and well again. My only hope was that Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi possessed enough medical expertise to do the job. And from what I'd seen so far, he was certainly more than qualified.

Suddenly, the relative quiet of the room was broken as Chief Medical Officer Kelvin burst through the door. He was certainly a loud character, was Kelvin. He didn't appear to be panicked or rushed in any way, but the manner in which he entered the room was quite brash. He walked in, shutting the door behind him abruptly, and made his way over to the medpod. Seeing that Xena was now properly hooked up to the running ReStim machine, he praised Yosuke for his work, and asked to see the machine's readout data so far. After he had spent a couple of moments glancing over the notes that he had been handed, he turned his gaze to me. He stared silently for a few moments, before he eventually spoke to me. He didn't say much, but it was the tone of his voice that really unnerved me. Then again, everything he said was laced with the same serious undertone.

"Would you please come with me, Jones?" He asked sternly.


	9. IX

**IX**

I followed Kelvin out of the room in total silence. I didn't dare ask him where he was taking me, but I could only assume that it was somewhere bad. Had another patient been found dead? Had Kelvin realised that it was a Xenomorph behind the original killing, and subsequently placed the blame squarely on me? Or perhaps he'd figured out that I wasn't planning on taking Xena back to Weyland-Yutani after she'd been revived, in which case he'd call off her treatment immediately. Soon enough, I'd know. Our journey, thankfully, was much shorter this time. We stayed on the same floor, in fact, although it was still a lengthy walk along several corridors. Eventually, we reached a corridor which was packed tightly with small doors on both sides. The doors were numbered as 'S2-Q-1**', and most of the numbers were in the 140-150 range. The door that we finally stopped outside was labeled 'S2-Q-169'. No sooner than we had stopped before the tiny door, Kelvin turned to me, still silent, and thrust a small, laminated keycard into my hand.

"What's this?" I asked, rather foolishly, as I stared down at the rectangular piece of coloured plastic.

"This is your living quarters." Kelvin replied, nodding towards the door.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, a wave of relief washing over me. _That_ was a lot of build up for not much payoff. Kelvin took the card back out of my hand, tapped it against a small panel on the front of the door, and returned it back to me without a word. The door swung open, revealing a laughably small bedroom, complete with single bed, computer monitor, and… well, that was about it. The room was much smaller than my quarters aboard the Archimedes had been, with barely enough room to swing a cat, as they say. Still, I wasn't one to complain. So long as I had somewhere to rest my head for the night, I was satisfied.

"Now, as these are public living quarters, there are a couple of rules in place." Kelvin explained. "The usual stuff applies: No loud music, lights out by 2300 hours, and if you find any discarded property in the corridor, please return it to Lost and Found. Downstairs, second corridor to the left, first door on the right."

"Got it." I nodded. I stepped into the room, feeling like a bull in a china shop as I immediately tripped against the foot of the bed. In all honesty, the word 'room' was used questionably in this scenario. I think 'walk-in cupboard' would probably have been more appropriate. When I finally got back to my feet, the bed covers were strewn across the floor, with both pillows standing at Kelvin's feet out in the corridor. Sheepishly, I picked them up and placed them back on the bed.

"Now," Kelvin continued, ignoring the pathetic display of clumsiness before him. "There are roughly two dozen civilians residing temporarily on this corridor. I'm sure you don't need to be told that you do not speak to _anyone_ about the nature of your patient. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." I nodded. As if I was going to run up and down the corridor screaming 'Look at me, I'm in love with a dead Xenomorph who's in a ward three corridors down!' I wasn't stupid, and I think I'd learned by now that most people just weren't ready to accept someone like Xena as the norm.

"Right, well I think that's everything." Kelvin told me. "I'll leave you to get some rest. Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi'll let you know if there's any progress with your patient." And with that, he simply disappeared down the corridor, bringing our conversation to an abrupt end. The door slowly shut itself behind him, and soon I sat alone in complete silence. Seeing as though there was nothing better to do, and I hadn't slept since I came out of hypersleep, I decided to get some shut-eye. I rolled over to face the white wall behind the bed, and pulled the covers over myself.

"Oh, one more thing…" A voice suddenly called from outside. I sat up hastily, and saw that Kelvin was back in the doorway once again. He had in his hand a rolled up wad of tattered, yellowed paper.

"I thought you might like to give this a read." He continued, holding the paper out towards me.

"What is it?" I asked, taking the paper from him and unrolling it carefully.

"I've had a few people go through Professor Oldman's possessions, so that we could decide what to get rid of and what to send back to his family on Themisto." Kelvin explained. "They found this in one of his desk drawers." I looked at the handwritten title on the cover of the paper. It read 'Hyper Light-Speed Travel: A Brief Explanation'.

"I still don't understand," I told Kelvin, confused. "I thought Professor Oldman was a medical officer?"

"He was." Kelvin assured me. "He majored in medical science at the Royal Twine-Doppler University of Kallichore. He'd previously considered a course in astrophysics, though, and he had a fairly decent grasp on it. He wrote this thesis a couple of years ago. Sent a copy back to the university, of course, but they never published it."

"What's it about, then?" I asked, skimming briefly across the pages of Oldman's paper.

"Take a guess." Kelvin replied bluntly. "Bloke thought he could completely re-define light-speed travel. According to him, his new principles could lay the groundwork for ships that could manage speeds in excess of Light-50."

"Light-50?" I gasped, astonished. "Modern military ships can barely break Light-16."

"Like I said, he never went through with the astrophysics course." Kelvin repeated. "Anyway, you're a navigational officer, this sort of stuff should be right up your alley. Give you something to occupy your time, at least."

"Well, thanks, I suppose." I muttered, although astrophysics was probably the _last_ thing on my mind right now. Kelvin seemed slightly annoyed by my lack of gratitude, but declined to take the conversation any further, anyway. He left the room in silence, once again leaving me to my thoughts. And Professor Oldman's paper. I didn't want to read it right now, though. All I wanted was some time to think. To try and make sense of this whole sorry affair in my mind. I mean, there was Xena to consider, for a start. Lying dead in a medpod, hooked up to what was essentially a giant electrocution machine. After all I'd done to protect her back on the Archimedes, along came Ryan and shot her dead. Then there was Xanthus. For all I knew, he could be out hunting for his next victim right now. Crawling around the vents, waiting to strike on whoever crossed his path. Yes, it was not a brilliant situation to be in right now. But things were only going to get worse if I didn't let the truth out. On the other hand, if I _did_ let the truth out… well, that wouldn't exactly give a desirable outcome, either.

As the analogue clock above the door ticked away slowly, I thought about how different things could have been if Xena had never been shot. If Ryan hadn't lost his mind and just accepted her for what she was. She might've been alive and well right now. We could've been on our way to some remote colony in the outer Solar System, where we could have lived in peace, without risk of persecution. And, while I hated to admit it, we might not have been burdened with a son who was just as murderous as every other Xenomorph that had come before him. It sounded so horrible of me, just to think something like that. But it was true. If Xena hadn't been shot, she wouldn't have impregnated me with Xanthus, and he'd never have been born. Then perhaps we wouldn't have had to deal with the problems that we now faced.

Perhaps, though, it was just the way things were meant to be. I often considered whether it was fate that had brought me and Xena together, that had made the Archimedes run into the wreck of the XH-12 in the first place. Now I wondered whether it was fate that had driven us apart, that had killed her and given me a son who was a killer. But fate wasn't something I believed in. _We_ control what happens in our lives. And _I_ was the one who had allowed myself to become close to Xena. Still, what's done was done, and that's that. Fate, free will, it made no odds to me. What mattered now was how I dealt with the consequences. I had to make sure now that, whatever happened, we ended with the best possible outcome for everyone. Xena would be alive, Xanthus would be brought under control, and the people of the Constantinople would live on in safety.

About half an hour later, I was laid in bed, half-asleep, when I heard a knock at the door. I sat up, rubbing my eyes gently, and went to see who it was. As I slapped my card against the reader beside the door, it slowly opened, revealing Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi standing in the corridor. I remembered what Kelvin had said. That Hinkonnoshi would come and let me know if there was any development with Xena. Could it be? Was she awake, had he revived her? I felt the excitement building up inside me. I simply had to know immediately.

"Yosuke?" I asked, both excited and concerned. "What is it, what's happened to her?"

"I'm afraid it's nothing to do with your patient, sir." He replied sternly. "Mr Kelvin wanted me to inform you that another person has been found dead in one of the lower corridors."


	10. X

**X**

My face fell no sooner than the words had left Hinkonnoshi's mouth. Another body? And on one of the lower decks, as well. It had to be, didn't it? But I couldn't bring myself to accept it. I couldn't allow myself to accept that my son had now killed two people.

"Do you know anything about what happened?" I asked, trying to remain calm as I spoke.

"I'm afraid not, sir." He replied. "But I would assume that there is some link to Professor Oldman's suspected murder."

"Perhaps." I nodded, although I already knew full well that the likelihood of there _not_ being a link between the two deaths was incredibly slim indeed. Even so, I couldn't say for sure until I knew the full story.

"I have to go down there." I told Hinkonnoshi sternly. "I need to know what's going on."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, sir," Hinkonnoshi ordered, shaking his head. "Mr Kelvin has specifically instructed me to keep you up here at all times in case there is any development with your patient. Not only that, but the entire docking area has been deemed off-limits to civilians until the culprit has been found."

"No, you don't understand," I explained, pushing past the Doctor-Professor as I made my way into the corridor. "I _have_ to go down there."

"Mr Jones, it may be dangerous." He pleaded. "If this is a multiple homicide case, the killer may still be on the loose."

"Yosuke…" I sighed, unsure how to word my response to avoid arousing his suspicions. "Look, let's just say I might be able to 'shed some light' on the matter." I turned to leave, making my way slowly towards the double doors at the end of the corridor.

"Matthew?" Yosuke called out just as I reached the doors.

"Yes?" I called back, turning to face the man, who was now a good thirty feet away from me.

"Just be careful, yeah?" He asked sincerely. It was nice to know that somebody other than me was actually concerned for my safety.

"I will." I assured him graciously. "I'll be back soon." And with that, I pushed my way through the thick metal doors behind me, and stumbled into the next corridor.

As I journeyed further down the station towards the docking area, I became more and more worried about what I'd find down there. I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Xanthus may have killed two people already, and that there was likely to be more in the near future. I still didn't understand _how_ this could have happened, though. Xenomorphs, of course, are killers by instinct, but Xena was far from dangerous. She was a calm, gentle, loving creature, more compassionate than any human I'd ever met. And I wasn't exactly Jack the Ripper myself, was I? So how could we have given birth to a child of such bloodthirsty nature? Perhaps it was a recessive gene or something like that. After all, Xena's twin brother had turned out to be nothing like her, hadn't he? If Ryan, Alan and Nathan hadn't killed that thing when they did, it would have surely gone on to eradicate everyone on board the ship, possibly even Xena herself. And I had always said that Xena was one of a kind, perhaps to the point that even her own children would not be fortunate enough to break free of their basic instincts. So was that it? There had never been a Xenomorph like Xena before, and now there never would be again? Almost felt like I'd been the only person in human history lucky enough to hit the jackpot at the Xenomorph lottery.

Another ten minutes or so later, I had reached an area of the station which I felt was probably low enough to be considered 'the lower decks'. As per Kelvin's request, there was not a single person in sight, dock staff, patient, or otherwise. The eeriest thing about this was that I couldn't hear a thing. Not even the sound of engines throbbing resounded through the empty corridors, which was odd considering that most space stations have their engines in the lower sections. Every now and then, I heard the fizzling of fluorescent ceiling lights as they struggled to keep themselves running, but that was about it. After several minutes of wandering the corridors aimlessly, however, I finally heard the sound of voices in the distance. From my current position, I was too far away to hear what was being discussed, but I could tell that Kelvin and at least three other men were involved in the conversation. I crept slowly in the direction of the voices, and soon reached the intersection between two corridors (or should that be the intersection between four corridors? I was never really sure). Anyway, stopping just before the corner, I could now hear the voices much more clearly. I listened in carefully, trying to make sense of what they were saying.

"So what are we going to do?" One of the men muttered. I seemed to remember his voice from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"What do you think we're going to do, James?" Kelvin snapped back at the man. "We need to find out _who_ or _what_ is behind these killings and put a stop to it."

"Do you really think it's as easy as that, Andrew?" The first voice replied, which I now realised belonged to Colonial Marshall James Ericson. "It's pretty difficult to track down a killer that leaves no witnesses, you know."

"Oh, I think we already know who's behind this." A new voice interrupted, this one belonging to Security Commander Liam Davison. "Wouldn't you agree, Officer Kelvin?"

"What's he talking about, Andrew?" Ericson demanded, his tone now becoming very condescending.

"Nothing, sir." Kelvin assured him, then said to Ericson through gritted teeth: "That situation has been dealt with appropriately, and does _not_ require the Colonial Marshall's input. _Does it,_ Davison?" There was a long pause at this point, presumably as Kelvin and Davison stared at each other coldly.

"I'm telling you, Brownway…" Ericson continued after a while. "If I found out that something has gotten through quarantine, you'll-"

"Oh, that's lovely, that is." A fourth and final voice argued. Obviously, I could tell from the context that it was Dock Sergeant Colin Brownway. "Two people die and suddenly everyone's all 'Oh, I bet this is that Sergeant Brownway's fault' for not searching people's ships thoroughly enough."

"Don't you take that tone with me, Brownway." Ericson snapped. "You'll do well to remember who's in charge here."

"Oh, like you have the faintest idea about what goes on aboard this station." Kelvin said sarcastically.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ericson asked, his voice now rising sharply in volume.

"Face it, James." Kelvin replied bluntly. "You're nothing more than a receptionist, taking people's docking requests whilst the rest of us do the big boy's work."

"Don't you dare try and pull that one on me, mate!" He snapped back, almost shouting at this point. "I do more than you think aboard this station."

"Do you bollocks!" Kelvin shouted, his voice now seething with rage. "In case you haven't noticed, two people have been killed, and so far you've done fuck all about it!"

Tensions were clearly running high at this point. I sensed that there was perhaps a long-standing rivalry between Ericson and Kelvin over who was truly in control of the Constantinople. They continued to shout at each other blindly, whilst Brownway and Davison tried to calm them down.

"Why don't you piss off back to med school, eh Andy?" Ericson shouted angrily. "Have a nice laugh with all the other stuck-up bastards?"

"Oh, I will if you scurry on back to your fucking help desk!" Kelvin bellowed in response.

"Right, come here you bell-end!" Ericson yelled, and I heard the sound of him lurching at Kelvin. I peered round the corner for the first time since my arrival, and saw Davison and Brownway desperately trying to pull the two men away from each other. It was almost laughable, two grown men having an argument over who was in charge. Given the circumstances, though, things looked bleak. If two murders brought the commanders of the station to this, what would happen if more bodies were found? It didn't bear thinking about.

Several moments later, Brownway and Davison had finally managed to bring Kelvin and Ericson down from their heated debate. As the conversation continued, it was evident that they were both still quite worked up, but they had at least managed to set their differences aside, and rightly so.

"Okay." Kelvin began, as calmly as he possibly could. "What we're going to do is this: Brownway, you will ensure that _every_ ship that docks here from now on is searched from top to bottom. No exceptions. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Brownway replied humbly. "I'll pass the message on to the rest of the dock staff."

"Good." Kelvin continued. "Now, Davison: You will personally see to it that _all_ civilians are escorted to and from the docks to their quarters by at least two armed security operatives. Understand?"

"I don't know if we have enough operatives for…" Davison began, but Kelvin must have given him a very menacing look at this point, because he quickly changed his response to: "Right away, sir."

"As for you, Ericson…" Kelvin muttered to the Colonial Marshall. "I want you to instruct all non-medical and non-security personnel to remain in their quarters until the killer is found. Think you can manage that?"

"Don't patronise me, Kelvin." Ericson replied, annoyed. I almost feared that another argument was about to break out.

"Look, can you do it or not?" Kelvin repeated bluntly. Ericson told him that he could, and would, issue the order as soon as he had returned to his office. And with that, Kelvin dismissed the group. That was when I realised my mistake. As I heard the sound of footsteps approaching, I looked around the corridor frantically, in search of any nook or cranny I could hide in. But it was too late. As I was busy looking the other way down the corridor, I heard the footsteps halt directly behind me. I turned around slowly, and saw that Chief Medical Officer Kelvin was staring me square in the face. And he did not look pleased…


	11. XI

**XI**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. I'm sorry it's been longer than usual this time, but I've been frightfully busy. Can't be helped, eh? Anyway, we've officially passed the 1/3 mark for this story, which means that there are only twenty chapters left to come, starting right here. That being said, I'll let you get right in to it. Remember to let me know what you think of the story so far; I'm always glad to hear people's opinions so I know that I'm taking the story in the right direction. Now, without further ado, read on, and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

"Matthew?" Kelvin snapped angrily. "What on Earth do you think you're doing here?"

"W-well-" I stuttered madly, trying to come up with some kind of excuse. "I-I uh, was just, um… l-looking for my… pen? Yeah, I-I think I might have dropped it down here somewhere."

"Your pen?" Kelvin replied, clearly not impressed. "Surely you wouldn't have dropped it if you weren't down here in the first place?"

"Oh, d-did I say pen?" I tried, feigning a chuckle. "I meant my, uh, pet. That's right. He's a rat. Scurries all over the place, you know."

"Pets aren't allowed aboard the station." He said bluntly.

"Well, t-the thing is…" I struggled, still desperately trying to cling onto my lie. "M-my… sister, was just-"

"Jones!" Kelvin interrupted. "I doubt you even have a sister, and I'm sure if you did, she wouldn't be very pleased to hear you getting her confused for your pet rat! Now will you kindly tell me why you're here?"

I sighed deeply, knowing that it was time to come clean. To admit that I knew who was behind the killings.

"Look, I'm going to level with you, sir." I began slowly. "I'm… worried! That's it. I'm just worried about the wellbeing of the good people of this station. I mean, I don't wish to sound vain, of course, but I'd consider myself to be a pretty caring person."

"Really?" Kelvin asked sarcastically. "I'm afraid I've come to suspect rather the opposite, Matthew."

"What do you mean?" I replied, confused.

"Well, one can't help but wonder, eh?" He explained. "After all, these incidents have only been occurring since you and that Xenomorph arrived…"

"I beg your pardon?" I gasped, astonished by his accusation. "You think Xe… my 'Xenomorph', did this? How could a dead Xenomorph possibly kill someone?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that it wasn't your patient, Matthew." Kelvin assured me solemnly. "I think it was you."

"What are you talking about?" I exclaimed, now even more taken aback. "You seriously think _I_ have something to do with this?"

"Well what do you expect?" He snapped, almost shouting. "I have to consider every possibility, Jones, no matter how far-fetched."

"If you say so." I muttered. This was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard. How could Kelvin seriously think that this was on me?"

"So let's just say that I _am_ the killer…" I continued. "What would you do to me?"

"Simple." Kelvin told me plainly. "Since the Constantinople is not under the official jurisdiction of any sovereign state, law and order here is left up to us. If I found out that you were murdering our patients, I'd have you executed."

"Oh," was the only reply I could manage here.

"Now, Matthew," Kelvin continued after a few moments of silence. "Isn't there somewhere you need to be?"

"A-actually, now that you mention it." I nodded, stuttering once again. "I'd, uh, better get back upstairs." I stepped backwards slowly, tripping slightly on a metal girder as it intersected with the floor. I cursed to myself wincingly, then slunk away down the corridor.

'Stupid Kelvin,' I thought to myself as I wandered along the empty corridors of the Constantinople. How could he seriously suspect me of all this? Fair enough, these killings had begun just after I arrived, and yes, I had brought two Xenomorphs aboard with me. But come on! I couldn't rip a man's teeth from his mouth, or gauge out someone's eyeballs. I mean, obviously I _could_ , physically speaking, but I didn't have the emotional stability to kick someone in the balls without feeling bad about it. Nonetheless, Kelvin had every right to be suspicious. But threats of execution? A bit steep, surely? As I continued to walk along in silence, I wondered just how Kelvin would react if he found out who the _real_ killer was. As I continued to dwell upon this somewhat unnerving thought, I noticed the corridors around me gradually beginning to fill up once again, as I began to re-enter the more populated upper decks. Doctors and patients alike scurried here and there, just like any other bustling space station. Even so, people were unusually cautious of their surroundings, now. Perhaps they'd realised something was amiss after hearing that the lower decks had been closed off.

A few minutes later, I found myself in the corridor on which Xena's room was situated. This corridor was somewhat quiet, compared to the rest of the ship, but there were still several people walking about. I stopped outside Xena's room, and knocked loudly on the cold metal door. After several moments, there was no reply. I tried again, with similar results. I tried the door, but of course, it was firmly locked. So where was Hinkonnoshi? I looked around, and saw a woman in a white lab coat walking by. She looked to be in her early sixties, and had her long, grey hair tied up in a bun, with just the slightest hint of blonde still there. 'Perhaps she could take me to Hinkonnoshi', I thought.

"Excuse me, miss?" I called out. The woman stopped in her tracks, and turned around to answer me.

"Yes, dear?" She replied warmly, a gentle smile on her face as she spoke.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi is, would you?" I asked.

"Oh, Yosuke, you mean?" She said chirpily. "He'll be in the staff room. Come on, I'll take you to him."

"Thanks very much, Miss…" I began, prompting the woman to tell me her name.

"Mary Wickesmith." She replied, reaching out a hand for me to shake. "Doctor Mary Wickesmith."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled. "I'm Matthew."

"Well, Matthew," Doctor Wickesmith continued, turning to head off down the corridor. "Let's go and find Yosuke, shall we?" I nodded, and followed the woman as she made her way along the corridor to a stairwell at the opposite end. We walked down the stairs at quite a brisk pace, weaving around oncoming people as we did so.

"So, you're one of Yosuke's patients, are you?" Doctor Wickesmith asked as we continued to move along swiftly.

"Oh, no," I explained. "A, um… friend of mine is. She's… well, she's seen better days, let's put it like that."

"Good friends?" Wickesmith asked, pushing open a door at the bottom of the stairwell and allowing me to pass through before her.

"I've know her since she was born." I smiled. I'd never really thought about it like that before, but it was true. I _had_ known Xena since she was born.

"I see." Wickesmith nodded, a small grin on her face. "You must be very close."

"Oh, no, i-it's not like that!" I gasped, worried that the woman had caught on to my true relationship with Xena.

"Don't worry about it!" She chuckled in reply. "I'm not going to tell anyone, am I? So, do you like her?"

"Well…" I began, trying not to come up with the cheesiest reply in the history of mankind.

"She's the most beautiful person I've ever known." I finished, failing miserably.

"A little clichéd, there, Matthew." Wickesmith grinned. "But I see what you're trying to say. I was just the same when I was younger."

"You were?" I asked, only too happy to change the subject to Doctor Wickesmith's own love-life.

"Oh, yes." She told me cheerily, pushing open another door as she did so. "Pringle, his name was."

"Pringle?" I asked, confused. "Funny name, isn't it?"

" _Aaron_ Pringle." She finished, chuckling again. Still sounded a bit funny, to be honest. "I met him when I was on holiday on Mars, way back in 2284. Said he was from Phobos. Of course, folk didn't approve. I just kept telling people: 'well, he's not _your_ boyfriend, is he?'"

"Yeah, I know how you feel." I sighed. "Not a lot of people'd approve of me and Xena, either."

"Why?" Wickesmith enquired. "From the 'wrong background', I suppose?"

"You could say that." I muttered in response. "Although it might be a fanciful choice of words."

"Well, either way, you love her, don't you?" Doctor Wickesmith asked.

"I do." I told her honestly. It felt good to finally admit that to someone.

"Well," She smiled, looking at me with another grin on her face. "In that case, if you'll pardon my language, everyone else can just go and fuck themselves, can't they?" I chuckled, grateful for the fact that Doctor Wickesmith was so understanding of my situation. Then again, I severely doubted she'd be so supportive if she knew the truth, would she? Either way, it felt good to know that someone was on my side for once. As this thought lingered in my mind, we finally reached a wide, wooden door which bore the plaque: 'Staff Room'. I was surprised the plaque didn't say something more formal, like 'Staff Recreation Lounge', or at lest 'Staff Break Area'. Anyway, that didn't matter right now. As Doctor Wickesmith pushed the thick door open, inviting me in warmly, I saw that the room was completely packed with doctors. Well, not just doctors. Nurses, professors, and generally anyone who was of sufficient status to wear a white lab coat were also in there. Wickesmith guided me over to a quiet corner of the room, where three men, one of which was Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi, were sat around a table with a deck of Ionian cards split between them.

"Yosuke?" Doctor Wickesmith asked, prompting Hinkonnoshi to look up from his cards. "This man wants to speak to you."

"Ah, Matthew!" Yosuke smiled, putting his cards face down on the table and coming over to me. "What's up?"

"Just wondering where you were." I told him. "What are you playing?"

"Oh, just a friendly game of Suits Out." He explained. "We're almost finished, in fact."

"By all means, carry on." I nodded. "But you've already lost."

"What do you mean?" Hinkonnoshi asked, puzzled.

"Well, look at it." I explained. "The last card played was a blue Drone. You've each got three cards left in your hand. Now, unless _you've_ got a zero, and those two have got twelves, thirteens, fourteens or fifteens, you can't win."

"Maybe I do have a zero." He whispered, so as not to let the other players know. "Now, I'll just go and play it, and then I'll be right with you." And with that, he returned to his seat, giving me a quick wink as he did so.

"So, gentlemen…" Yosuke began as he picked his cards back up. "Who's turn is it?"

"That would be me, Yosuke." The man to his left replied. He slowly slipped a card onto the table, grinning smugly. "Two. Gerald?" The man at the opposite side of the table shook his head, glumly placing his 'Five' down on the table.

"Unlucky, Gerald." Yosuke said, consoling the man. "And unlucky, Nick."

"What do you mean, 'unlucky Nick'?" The first man asked. Yosuke didn't reply. Instead, he calmly produced a card from his deck, and silently layed it down on the table. Zero.

"Bollocks!" Nick groaned, slapping the rest of his cards down on the table. "How is it that you always end up with the Zero?" Yosuke simply grinned, getting up from his chair and walking away from the table.

"Now then, Matthew." He beamed, gesturing towards the door. "Shall we?"


	12. XII

**XII**

"I really must apologise, Matthew." Yosuke told me for the third time in the last ten minutes. We were up in Xena's ward again now, and he couldn't seem to forgive himself for leaving his post.

"It's really no trouble, Yosuke." I told him again. "You're entitled to take a break, aren't you?"

"Well, yes..." He said hesitantly. "But that's not the point. Your patient is in a critical condition, and I was sat playing cards when I should have been up here monitoring her. I only went down there to get my lunch from the fridge. Then Doctor Harling roped me in to a quick game. Again, I'm…"

"Listen to me, Yosuke." I said jokingly, but with a stern undertone. "If you say sorry _once_ more, then so help me, God, I'll… do something."

"Forgive me for saying so, sir, but you're not very threatening, are you?" Hinkonnoshi asked, chuckling slightly.

"No, I suppose not." I grinned. "Certainly not as threatening as her, anyway." I pointed to Xena, who still layed silent in the tiny medpod.

"Anyway, what do you mean she's in a 'critical condition'?" I asked, only now fully processing Hinkonnoshi's words.

"Critical condition?" He repeated, slightly puzzled. "Oh, yes. "Come and see for yourself."

Hinkonnoshi walked over to his desk, and produced a long roll of paper with hundreds of numbers, dots and dashes, and square holes punched into it.

"What's this?" I asked, looking at the paper. It was all gibberish to me after all. I mean, what was I supposed to gather from the code '0.1-4.-61.-61-77-777.32451'? Anything could be meant by that code. '0.1-4.-61.-61-77-777.32451'. When doctors were using electrical apparatus, and it output the code '0.1-4.-61.-61-77-777.32451', what exactly did it mean? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it really bad? For God's sake what the hell was '0.1-4.-61.-61-77-777.32451'?

"It's a code '0.1-4.-61.-61-77-777.32451'." Hinkonnoshi explained. To be perfectly honest with you, it wasn't helpful.

"And what does that _mean_?" I pressed. "What do any of these numbers mean?"

"I ran some calculations." He continued calmly. "You see, when I told you that it would take several days to revive your patient, on account of the fact that animal brains have to be reawoken more gradually than human ones, I forgot to factor in the fact that animal brains also require a lower _overall_ voltage to revive them."

"So what are you saying?" I asked, still slightly annoyed by the allusion to Xena being an animal. "Good or bad?"

"Good." He assured me. "If we continue the procedure as we have done so far, then we may be able to revive her within the next twenty-four hours."

I could hardly believe it. Twenty-four hours? A day, that was it? By this time tomorrow, Xena might be alive and well again? I tried to contain myself in front of Yosuke. After all, I didn't want him to cotton on to my true relationship with Xena. But, try as I might, I couldn't help but let a small smile slip through. Luckily for me, he didn't notice, as he was too busy looking over his number sheet once again. But as I sat down in the chair opposite his desk and stared off into space cheerfully, he looked up and saw me grinning like a school boy.

"Can I ask you something, Matthew?" He asked, snapping me out of my docile state. This couldn't be good.  
"What is it?" I replied cautiously, although I already had an inkling that Yosuke was about to blow the lid right off my big secret.

"You have a son, don't you?" He continued. "You brought him here with you."

"Yes, I did." I told him. "Xanthus. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering," He assured me, leaning back in his chair. "What happened to his mother?"  
"H-his mother?" I stuttered. 'Stay calm, Matthew', I thought to myself. 'Just tell the truth'. "Well, she's uh… she's dead."

"Oh." Yosuke said, his voice almost a whisper. "I'm sorry to hear that. Was there nothing you could do to help her?"

"No, she… she died in childbirth." I lied. I knew it was cruel of me to toy with Yosuke's emotions in such a way, but it was the only thing I could think to say. I needed to bring this conversation to a quiet end before it came to a very loud one.

"Really?" He asked, a sympathetic tone in his voice. But all the while, he remained cautious. "Only…"

"Look, whatever you're thinking, Yosuke, you're wrong." I snapped, rather stubbornly.

"And how do you know what I'm thinking, Matthew?" He enquired, leaning forwards, intrigued. "Or do you just think you know?"

"Oh, I think you know what I think I know that you're thinking." I assured him. "And you're wrong."

"Well, you're right, I'm afraid, sir." Yosuke continued solemnly. "I _do_ believe I know what you think you know that I'm thinking."

"Look, enough beating about the bush." I said abruptly. "Why don't you actually tell me what you're thinking, eh?"

"Certainly, sir." Yosuke nodded, folding his arms as he prepared to unload his great theory. "I think that your patient here… 'Xena', her name was, wasn't it? I think that Xena is the mother of your child." Well, bollocks. That was it, I was exposed. If Hinkonnoshi knew, it wouldn't be long before Kelvin knew. And after that, it wouldn't belong before I was off the Constantinople, or worse. 'Don't panic, Matthew', I willed myself. 'Play it cool.'

"I see." I replied, as calmly as I could possibly muster under the circumstances. "And what makes you think that?"

"A number of things, sir." Hinkonnoshi explained. "First of all, there is the fact that you have given her a name. Most bounty hunters don't tend to name their victims. And most of them don't seem to care so much about their wellbeing, either."

"Is that all you've got?" I chuckled half-heartedly. "I'm sorry, Yosuke, but you don't make a very convincing argument."

"Oh, I'm not finished yet, Mr Jones." He continued plainly. "There's also the fact that you traveled here from God knows how far away just to get her medical attention, and trusted her enough to have your son sleeping in the next hypersleep booth. And I've seen the way you look at her, sir."

"L-look at her?" I stammered, still trying to hold together the lie as best I could. "I don't know what you mean, Yosuke."

"I believe you do, sir." Yosuke replied. "That glint in your eye whenever you look at her. I saw it when I first met you. I see it right now. I suspect that you and Mr Kelvin want her alive for two very different reasons. Am I right?"

"Well…" I hesitated. What did I do know? Open up to Hinkonnoshi, or deny everything? "That _was_ what I thought you were thinking, yes."

"But is it true?" He pushed, refusing to accept my answer. "It is, isn't it? You… love her. Don't you?"

"I…" I whispered, almost silently. "I do."

"I appreciate your honesty, Mr Jones." Yosuke smiled. Even now, he seemed as calm as ever. Why wasn't he yelling in my face with rage right now?

"You don't seem very shocked." I mumbled. "Are you not, you know… disgusted? Appalled? Disappointed in me as a human being?"

"Of course not, Matthew." He assured me, a warm, comforting lilt to his voice.

"But…" I continued, unnerved by his immediate acceptance of the truth. "Why not?"

"Mr Kelvin asked me to treat Xena as I would any human patient." He explained. "And so, she is."

"But it's not right, is it?" I asked him anxiously. "I mean, I'm not normal, am I? I-I'm insane, I'm not of sound mind, I-"

"You are perfectly sane, sir." Yosuke interrupted, chuckling. "Love is blind, is it not? As long as you want to be with her, and she wants to be with you, who has any right to stand in your way?" It was then that I finally realised that he was being sincere. He really did understand. He knew what I felt for Xena, and he accepted it. Nobody had ever truly done that before. I felt oddly comforted all of a sudden. Sure, there were billions upon billions of people out there who would just as sooner have the both of us killed rather than accept our relationship. But for now, I had finally found somebody, even if it was just one person, who _understood_. And for that, I'd always be grateful.

"Matthew?!" A voice suddenly bellowed from out in the corridor. Within seconds, Kelvin had come bursting through the door, his face red and his brow furrowed. He stormed over to the desk where Yosuke and I were still sat, and physically pulled me up out of my seat. Before I could protest, he was dragging me out into the corridor, leaving Yosuke sat staring in awe. I could barely comprehend what was going on? Had he overheard our conversation? Had he found out that Xanthus was the killer? Was he going to have me evicted from the station? I hadn't the faintest idea. As I gathered my bearings, though, he leaned in close to my face, sweat gleaning from his ginger hair. He positioned his mouth beside my left ear, the bristles of his moustache almost touching me, and whispered: "You've got some explaining to do…"


	13. XIII

**XIII**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and I'm back again today with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. We're now at chapter thirteen, almost the halfway point of the story. But trust me, things are only just getting started. There's not much for me to say about this one, so I'll let you get straight into it. Read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

The door to Xena's room slammed behind us with a thud. Kelvin's face remained such a bright red that his beard was almost completely camouflaged against it. He continued to breathe heavily, staring me dead in the eyes, fire burning in his dark pupils. I still had no idea what he was going to say, but one thing was for sure: it wasn't going to be good. For several seconds, he did not speak, as he tried to steel himself in his anger. His face gradually began to return to it's pasty white colour, and his breathing returned to normal. Even so, when he finally did speak, there was still a distinct air of irritation in his voice.

"Okay, Matthew," He said slowly, looking at me with a look of sheer disgust on his face. "I want you to listen to me very closely, and answer me truthfully, alright? Now… Where is your son?"

"Oh." I replied, suddenly at a loss for words. Did he know about Xanthus? But then again, how could he know? "I, uh…"

"Because I'll tell you where he _isn't_." Kelvin continued. "He _isn't_ in hypersleep aboard the craft you arrived on, is he?"

"Really?" I gasped, attempting to sound as convincing as possible. "You mean, he's missing? But, how? How could he have-"

"Oh, cut it out, Jones." He interrupted bluntly. "I think you already knew full well that he was missing, didn't you?"

"Me?" I asked, again trying to act surprised by his accusation. "I'm afraid I don't understand, sir."

"You don't?" He remarked sarcastically. "Well then, allow me to enlighten you, Matthew. I ordered the dock staff to perform another search of your vessel. They discovered that the glass of one of the hypersleep booths had been shattered."

"I see." I replied, nodding slowly as I spoke. "And what leads you to believe that I already knew this?"

"Well, for one thing, almost everything you've said to me since arriving on this station has been a lie." He scowled. "I see no reason for this to be different. I knew that you were hiding something from me when I found you eavesdropping on my conversation earlier on. Why you felt the need to lie to me, I've no idea. But I assure you, Matthew. By keeping the truth from me, you've only made things worse."

"How do you work that one out? How has me 'keeping the truth' from you made things worse?" I asked, realising my mistake almost immediately.

"So you admit that you lied to me?" Kelvin replied.

"I didn't say that." I told him, defending myself. "All I said was, how would it have made things worse if I had?"

"Oh, Matthew…" He sighed, shaking his head as he did so. "Bad news travels fast, you know. There are already rumors circulating the station about Professor Oldman and the other woman we found dead. They're easy enough to cover up, though. A perfectly healthy newborn child, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. If word gets out about this, there'll be mass panic. And it's hard to catch a killer when everyone's panicking."

"How would people know that Xanthus is just a child, anyway?" I asked. "Didn't think of that one, did you?"

"Like I said, bad news travels fast." Kelvin assured me. "The moment you arrive on this station, everyone knows who you are. You so much as sneeze, they'll know. There are 104-year old deaf-blind dementia patients in Ward 567 that could name every patient who's ever come to this station."

"That's a little bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?" I asked, although I was pretty certain that this was intentional.

"You see my point." He muttered. "If there's one thing you can't stop people from doing, it's talking. And boy, do they talk."

"So what are you saying?" I asked, annoyed. "That if everyone on the station suddenly starts getting hysterical, it's my fault?"

"In a word," He replied. "Yes. Look, Matthew, all I'm saying is that if you'd told us as soon as you found out that your son was missing, we could have at least tried to cover it up. Not only that, but we could have locked down the area sooner, and the killer might not have gotten away." Whilst he was an arrogant and unfriendly bloke, there was an air of truth to what Kelvin was saying. Perhaps if I had told the truth outright, we could have been one step closer to catching the killer by now. Wait, what was I saying? I already knew that Xanthus _was_ the killer, and no amount of 'telling the truth' was going to make it any easier for us to bring him in. Now that he was out there, there was very little that we could do to stop him. Not to mention the fact that I was the only one who knew the whole truth, anyway.

"I'm sorry." Kelvin eventually muttered. This was completely out of character for him, so naturally I was confused.

"What for?" I asked, puzzled.

"I didn't wish to seem insensitive about your son's disappearance." He explained. "I understand that it was difficult for you to come to terms with." I simply nodded. It was nice to know that he had at least some morality left in him, even if he was an insufferable twat.

"But you understand what I'm getting at, don't you?" He continued.

"I do." I assured him. "You're right, I should have told you." It angered me to say it, though. I shouldn't have had to justify myself to Kelvin. To bow down to him, when he couldn't even begin to comprehend what was really going on here. I'd seen what a full-grown, adult Xenomorph was capable of. And I knew that whether I'd told him the truth or not, it would make absolutely no difference to our current situation whatsoever.

As I continued to stew on the thought that Xanthus was still out there right now, probably off looking for his next victim, the sound of a door opening at the far end of the corridor attracted the attention of both myself and Kelvin. A small man was walking down the corridor towards us, who unfortunately I didn't recognise. He came over to where Kelvin and I stood, and gestured to Kelvin to come closer. He then muttered something inaudible into his ear, prompting his facial expression to change once again. It was a grim look, indeed, that was for sure. And with that, Kelvin turned silently to follow the man down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" I asked, although I feared that the answer was already blatantly obvious.

"You'd better come and see for yourself." He replied solemnly. I simply did as I was instructed, and headed away with Kelvin and the other man.

As you can probably imagine, what ensued next was yet another silent trek down to the lower decks. Nobody spoke a word, which had pretty much become the norm around here. I worried what we would find down there. Of course, I already anticipated that it was another of Xanthus' victims found dead. But would it be anything as severe as what had happened to Professor Oldman? I'd never have thought that he could have not only killed somebody, but also removed his eyeballs and teeth. Surely this was unusual behaviour, even for a Xenomorph? Then again, if there was one thing I'd come to expect recently, it was the unexpected. It wasn't much longer before we finally reached the site of the incident. Kelvin pushed open a door at the bottom of a particularly tall stairwell, and left me to stare in shock and horror at the sight before me. It was far worse than I could have possibly imagined. In fact, the word 'unexpected' didn't even begin to describe it…

There were no less than five bodies strewn along the corridor. Three men, two women, all of them in security operative's apparel. Almost all of them were missing one or more limbs, some of which had been left behind in thick pools of blood. My stomach churned at the very sight. This was more than a few murders we were dealing with, now. This was no less than a massacre. But how could five armed security operatives have been killed?

"We received this transmission from the group about twenty minutes ago." The man who had led us down here told Kelvin. He produced a small tape recorder from his pocket and pushed down the 'play' button. Suddenly, the air was filled with the crackling of radio static. The audio was garbled, to say the least. I could make out the sound of panicked voices, calling out for help as they desperately gasped for breath. They were clearly running from something. It didn't take long for me to find out what.

A sound came over the recording then that made my blood run cold. An ungodly screech, unlike anything I'd ever heard before. Even your average Xenomorph didn't make a sound like this. It was deafening, even over the tape. I dreaded to think what it would have done to the ears of these people. Not that they were using there ears for much longer after this, anyway. But now, seeing the utter carnage around me, hearing that nightmarish scream, I knew that I would have to come clean. If this wasn't a wake up call, then I don't know what was.

"What the fuck…" Kelvin gasped. "You're not telling me that a human's capable of this."

"It's Xanthus." I said emptily, my expression emotionless and my stare blank. "It's my son."


	14. XIV

**XIV**

"What?" Kelvin demanded. His facial expression was totally unreadable now, somewhere between confusion and outright disgust.

"It's Xanthus, my son." I said again, nervous as to how Kelvin would react to this revelation. "He's the killer."

"But…" Kelvin murmured, looking around at the bloodbath before him. "Your son's a newborn child. A _full-grown_ human couldn't do this."

"That's just it." I told him. I locked eyes with Kelvin and stared, almost coldly, into his eyes. "He's not human." Kelvin furrowed his brow in disbelief. But before either of us could say anything else, a door near the end of the corridor burst open, and several security operatives stormed towards us. As they marched over, they too looked around in horror at the bodies which completely littered the corridor at this point. I was thankful for the brief distraction as one of the operatives asked to have a word with Kelvin. Sadly, though, their conversation was very short.

"Matthew?" He asked suddenly, dragging me to one side so that we were out of earshot of the security operatives.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'he's not human'?" He snapped, being careful not to raise his voice too high.

"W-well…" I tried, considering the best way to phrase this so that Kelvin might at least _try_ to understand the situation at hand here.

"He's a Xenomorph, isn't he?" He finished for me. Clearly, he'd already gotten a pretty good grasp on things.

"Yes." I replied honestly. There was no use me trying to deny it now. I'd already blurted the truth out like a complete moron.

"So that means…" Kelvin continued, his anger growing with every syllable. "Your patient… 'Xena'…"

"Yes," I sighed, nodding weakly as I spoke. "She's his mother." Kelvin did not reply at this point. He simply shook his head in disgust.

For several moments after this, Kelvin remained silent. He appeared to be lost in deep thought, although his facial expression remained one of disapproval throughout. When he finally did speak again, his voice was laced with masked anger.

"So let me get this straight," He began, looking me dead in the eyes once again. "You _knew_ all along that your son was the killer? From the moment you found out that Professor Oldman was dead, you have been _lying to my face_? And _now_ you think it's an appropriate time to tell me?" I wasn't sure how to respond. When he put it like that, it was hard to defend myself. I mean, yes, I had suspected all along that Xanthus was the killer, but even I hadn't known for sure until hearing that recording. Was I wrong to have kept quiet up until now? That would depend on one's own point of view.

"Well?" Kelvin demanded once more.

"I didn't know." I told him truthfully. "I didn't know that he was capable of doing anything like this."

"Oh, you didn't?" Kelvin replied angrily. "You didn't know that an eight-foot tall, heavily armored creature that was literally _born_ to kill people was capable of this?" Again, his argument was valid on the surface. But he didn't know Xanthus like I did. I really _didn't_ think he'd do this.

"Look, it's not my fault that he's turned out the way he has, is it?" I muttered. "I haven't trained him since birth to kill anyone that crosses his path."

"That's not the point." Kelvin said sternly. "You were aware of the risk that he could pose, and you brought him here anyway."

"Oh, really? 'The risk that he could pose'?" I asked sarcastically. "You're talking as if I've planned for this to happen."

"I'm not being funny or anything, Matthew, but that's certainly what it looks like!" He shouted. The attention of the team of security operatives had been caught by this point, and they were now stood listening to Kelvin and I as we argued.

"It's not my fault that he's a murderer, is it?" I told Kelvin angrily. "I can't be held responsible for somebody else's actions."

"Alright, then." He replied, sweat running down his face at this point. "Who do you think's to blame for this, eh?"

"Well, call me frank," I shouted, "But perhaps your security forces could have done a bit better a job, don't you think?"

"Leave." Kelvin muttered under his breath, almost completely inaudible.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, wondering if I had misheard what he had said.

"I said leave!" He repeated, louder, and significantly angrier, this time. "I want you off this station."

"Wait, what?" I asked again. "You can't just-"

"Listen to me, Jones!" Kelvin snapped, his face as red as a beetroot now. "You have a problem with the way security is managed around here. We have a problem with the way that _your_ son is murdering people around here. I want you gone first thing in the morning."

"But what about Xena?" I pleaded. She was so close to recovery. This couldn't happen right now.

"It makes no odds to me what happens to that freak now." He muttered in reply. "Take her with you, for all I care."

"What did you just call her?" I asked, suddenly becoming more defensive.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not make it clear enough for you?" He said patronisingly. "I said _freak_ , F-R-E-A-K, _freak_. And to think, you actually had a child with that thing. There go my chances of handing it over to Weyland-Yutani. They don't take used goods." He practically spat those last words at me.

"How dare you?" I whispered, although it soon became an enraged yell. "How DARE you speak about her like that!" I suddenly found my temper uncontrollable. Without warning, I lunged at Kelvin, pushing him to the ground in anger. Of course, he instantly began crying out for help.

"Get him off me!" He bellowed, prompting two security operatives to jump into action. They grabbed me by the arms, ragging me away from Kelvin as he continued to thrash about under my grip. I relinquished him immediately as I realised what I had just done. I hadn't meant to lash out at him, honestly. But he had crossed a line. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_ , spoke about Xena like that.

"Take him away." Kelvin announced, dusting himself down as he got to his feet. The security operatives immediately began to pull me away down the corridor. I tried to resist, but these people were much stronger than I was. All the while, Kelvin simply looked on in disgust.

"You can't do this to me, Kelvin!" I tried, still desperately fighting to break free from my captors' grip. "He's still my son, I can't just abandon him!"

"You have until seven o'clock in the morning to leave this station." He called after me, ignoring my previous remark. "After that, I don't want to see or hear from you _ever_ again. Got it?" And with that, the guards led me through the door at the end of the corridor, slamming it behind them as they went.

As I was silently escorted back to my quarters by the two full-armed security operatives, I began to come to terms with what I'd just done. The consequences of me telling Kelvin the truth about Xanthus had been far worse than I'd hoped. He couldn't just evict me like this, could he? Well, he was, questionable as it may be. But I didn't care about that right now. There were bigger things on my mind. Xanthus, for a start. He was still wandering the station at this very moment, and I was just going to leave? Do you know what that does to a person, to know that their own flesh and blood was out murdering people, but being totally unable to intervene in any way? Perhaps if I stayed, I could at least _try_ to reason with him. Get him to see sense. The chances were remote, but I had more chance of reasoning with him than any of these people did, didn't I? This wasn't the only thing on my mind, though. Oh no. There was something even bigger. Something I'd been waiting for since I first left the Archimedes.

'Tomorrow'. That was what Hinkonnoshi had told me. Less than 24 hours, and she could have been back by my side. Living, breathing, walking, talking… well, not talking, more… screeching, I suppose. The point was, the one thing that I'd come here for in the first place had now been taken away from me. All hope of me seeing Xena alive again was lost. These were perhaps the only people in the galaxy that could help me, and now they wouldn't. All because of Xanthus. All because he couldn't control his deep-seated killer instincts. To resent one's own child so bitterly was a horrible feeling. But I couldn't help it. It was _his_ fault that I'd never see Xena alive again. And I'd never be able to forgive him for that. Not that I could ever forgive him for everything he'd already done, of course. Then again, was it really his fault? All those people _he'd_ killed, yet I still found myself feeling guilty for it. How different things could have been if Xena and I had never met at all. We wouldn't be in this mess right now, would we?

As I continued to dwell on this thought, as I continued to blame myself for my son's mistakes, we reached the corridor on which my quarters were located. The security operatives marched me down the corridor towards my room in complete silence. One of them relinquished his grasp on my shoulder to open my door, then nodded to the other, who simply pushed me in to the room without a second glance. The door slammed shut behind me, and I heard an audible 'beep' as it was locked. As the two men marched away down the corridor, I slumped down on my bed. I had no idea what I was going to do now. Everything was falling apart around me. Everything I'd worked for, everyone I cared about was being taken away from me in some way or another. I had nowhere to go and no-one to go with; no home, no job, no money. And so, I did what any perfectly rational, mature adult would do when their life had unexpectedly hit rock bottom. I layed down in bed and silently cried myself to sleep.


	15. XV

**XV**

I awake to a dazzling light. The room around me is bathed in a brilliant white glow. I sit up slowly, and look around the room in confusion. These are not the quarters that I feel asleep in. They are much too large. This is not the Constantinople. I get to my feet, trying to make sense of where I am.

This room is familiar. I feel like I have seen it before. The bed, the desk, the wardrobe. I recognise them from somewhere, but I can't figure out where. All of a sudden, I realise. This is the Archimedes. These are my living quarters aboard the Archimedes. But something seems off. Everything appears… pristine. Perfect. I am unnerved by this, but for now I simply take it in my stride.

As I walk over to the door of my quarters, it slides open of it's own accord, allowing me to step through into the corridor. Again, it seems oddly untouched. The walls are clean and white, and the floor is completely free of any smudges or stains. Above me, the ceiling lights do not flicker. Instead, they shine solidly. Everything is in perfect working order. I do not know why this puts me on edge, but it does. It's almost… surreal. No ship could be in such immaculate condition. It isn't possible. And there's something else bugging me. It feels as if I'm not really there. Like I'm looking through my own eyes, but my mind is somewhere else. Like… a memory. Or a fantasy.

I hear the sound of voices nearby. There are three of them, coming from around a nearby corner. I move to follow the noise. This is when I realise that my footsteps are silent. I look down at the ground, and see my legs. Black trousers, white socks. Gleaning, black parade shoes. The same kind that I wear with my everyday uniform. But they don't make a sound, not even as I stamp down on the cold, metal floor as hard as I can. Nothing. It's as if I don't exist here. I am here, but at the same time, I'm not. I can see and hear my surroundings, but I myself cannot be heard. I continue walking, my feet still silently slamming against the floor beneath my feet as I follow the hushed voices.

As I round the corner at the junction of the corridor, I suddenly see where the voices are coming from. Three men are walking along the corridor away from me. Nathan, Alan, and Ryan. They walk along, muttering to each other, too quiet for me to hear. All of the men have guns, and keep glancing back over their shoulders in suspense. At one point, Nathan looks right at me. He stares right at the spot where I am standing. But he doesn't see me. Why doesn't he see me? He looks forwards once again, and all three of them disappear around another corner. I hurry to keep up, tailing the group closely. As I reach the next corner, and peer around it cautiously, I am shocked by what I see.

There is a Xenomorph standing in the corridor in front of the men. It stares at them like a rabbit caught in the headlights, too scared to fight, too scared to flee. It's Xena. I feel overjoyed, to see her alive again, even if it's just in my mind. But the moment is bittersweet. Alan orders Nathan and Ryan to raise their weapons. I immediately spring into action, sprinting towards the men. I push a hand against Ryan's back, and reach out with my other arm to pull Nathan to the ground. But the only person who falls is me. I pass straight through the men, collapsing on the floor without a sound. As I get to my feet once again, I see the men cocking their guns. There's nothing I can do to stop them now.

I look on in dismay as one of the darkest moments in my life is tragically reenacted. As I watch helplessly, the sound of crackling electricity fills the air. Suddenly, a bolt of bright, white light erupts from Ryan's weapon. The sound of the bolt as it flies across the corridor ricochets against the shiny, metal walls. The bolt hits Xena, and a deafening screech resounds through the corridor as she stumbles backwards in agony. I desperately scream her name, but nothing so much as a whisper comes from my mouth. It's too late now anyway. She lies on the floor lifelessly. Ryan puts his weapon back by his side nonchalantly, like taking another innocent creature's life means nothing to him.

I run over to Xena's side in an instant. I try to hold her, to comfort her in her final moments. But I cannot touch her. I can't feel her. I look back at where Nathan, Alan and Ryan are still standing. But the former two begin to fade. Like they are disappearing from reality itself. Soon, they are gone. Only Ryan remains. Up until now, none of the men have noticed my presence. Yet now, I find Ryan staring at me coldly, his eyes piercing my very soul. His expression is solemn, yet hauntingly vacant. His eyes are unblinking, his face unchanging. Like an apparition of death itself.

"You can't save her, Matthew." He says, his voice a deafening whisper. "Not this time." And with that, he too begins to fade away.

I look down at Xena once again. She lies still, completely devoid of life. I couldn't save her before, and I can't save her now. The lights of the corridor begin to dim. The entire ship falls silent. Not even the sounds of engines throbbing or pipes groaning can be heard. Darkness entombs me, and a silence like nothing I've ever heard fills the air. I try to scream again, but no sound comes out. I try to cry, but no tears fall. I smash my head against the floor, but feel no pain. I can't escape the agony of solitude. As the ship's air filters begin to fail, oxygen drains from the corridors. But even the vacuum of space cannot suffocate me any more than this feeling already is.

I want to die. My very will to live has been wrenched away from me. But I can't. I can't kill myself. I can breath without air, I am nourished without food. I've been made immortal, only to suffer for eternity. Why can't this nightmare end? Why can't I escape it? As I continue to weep silently, the ship begins to collapse around me. The walls and ceiling fall apart. The floor fades away from beneath me. Soon, nothing remains but a relentless, never-ending void. There is nobody. There is nothing. I just want to leave this hell, to escape from the insanity of my own mind. But I can't. Why can't I? Why, why, why, why, why? 'STOP!' I scream emptily. But it doesn't stop. It never stops.

I opened my eyes cautiously. The room around me was pitch black. I sat up and felt around on the wall for a light switch. As soon as my hand came to rest on one, I flicked it down quickly. The dull ceiling light flickered to life, revealing the tiny room that I had fallen asleep in. I was finally awake. I was back on the Constantinople, and everything was just as ordinary as it should be. The room wasn't in pristine condition. The light wasn't a perfect white that never so much as flickered. The nightmare was over. But was the reality really any better? I got out of my bed, and looked up at the tiny analogue clock on the wall above the door. It was twenty past three. The early hours of the morning. Ordinarily, I would have gone back to sleep for a few hours. But there wasn't a chance that I was going back to bed after _that_ ordeal. Even so, whilst it had been… harrowing, to say the least, I found that the metaphor it portrayed was hauntingly true.

Without Xena, I had nothing. When I left the Archimedes, I had left everything behind. My job, my friends. My old life. I'd worked for years to become a respected member of society. Now, though, society could never accept me. The decision I had made when I chose to start a new life with Xena was one of the worst that I'd ever made. And now, more than ever, I saw that. I had made a mistake. But did I regret it? Did I feel remorse for what I had done? In a way… yes. By trying to save Xena, I had only made things worse for everybody else. For me. For her. For everybody on this station, be they patient, doctor, or security operative. And when people make bad decisions, they tend to be haunted by them for the rest of their lives.

As I sat there, wallowing in self-pity at the choices I'd made, there was a knock at the door. This was surprising, given that it was barely half past three in the morning, but I went to answer it all the same. As I swung the thick metal door open, I saw Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi standing in the corridor.

"Yosuke?" I said loudly. He immediately put a finger in front of my mouth to silence me.

"Come with me." He whispered. And before I could say anything else, he had begun to walk away down the corridor.

"What's going on?" I whispered, jogging to catch up with him as he traveled along at a brisk pace.

"It's Xena." He explained, guiding me through the first set of double doors at the end of the corridor as he spoke. "She's almost ready to be woken up." I had no idea how to respond. I was too shocked to speak. Xena? Alive? It couldn't be. I wanted to feel relieved, honestly I did. But I decided to reserve that until I'd actually seen her. As we walked along, though, some part of me deep down was quietly thinking: best decision I ever made.


	16. XVI

**XVI**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. We've officially passed the halfway mark now, which means that there are only fifteen chapters left before the end of this story. But don't worry! The action is only just beginning. Remember to let me know your thoughts on this, and any other, chapter, as I do like to know that you're enjoying what I'm writing. That being said, let's get down to business. Read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

"I don't understand." I remarked as we made our way through the maze of dimly lit corridors towards Xena's ward. "Officer Kelvin ordered Xena's operation to be halted immediately. And I've got to be off this station in… four hours."

"I know, sir." Yosuke assured me. "Mr Kelvin has already told me everything. But she's so close to revival. I figured that, if I turned up the voltage on the ReStim machine, I could have her awake by five o'clock. That way, you could smuggle her aboard your craft and take her with you."

"I…I don't know what to say." I said sincerely. "You'd do that for us? What if Kelvin finds out?"

"Please, let me worry about that, Matthew." He replied. "I know how much she means to you. And I'll do everything in my power to make sure that the two of you leave this station alive." I really was at a loss for words. To think that Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi would even consider helping me. Putting his own job on the line for the sake of me and Xena? Only somebody incredibly stupid would do something so foolish. Or someone incredibly caring. A true friend. And although we'd known each other for less than a day, I had come to realise that Yosuke was just that.

It was about five minutes before we reached Xena's ward. Hinkonnoshi opened the door, guiding me in to the brightly lit room. On the far side, Xena still lay silently in her medpod. The ReStim machine beside her, though, was whining loudly, groaning with electricity as it surged through the wires into Xena's brain. There was a red light on the front of the machine, which was a little unnerving. But I trusted Yosuke. He was a professional.

"I must confess," He said, sighing as he sat down behind his desk and pulled up a small computer monitor. "It is quite risky to administer an electrical current at such high frequency. There is a very, _very_ small chance that the operation may be unsuccessful."

"What?" I gasped, shocked by this new information. "You mean… she could die?"

"With respect, sir, she's already dead, isn't she?" He replied. "I had to at least try. It may be the only way you'll see her alive again."

"You're right." I nodded, calming myself. "It's worth the risk." Yosuke nodded in agreement, then looked down at some documents on the table before him. It amazed me how calm he remained, even right now, despite what was at stake for him. His job. His career, his livelihood.

"Yosuke?" I asked gently, prompting the man to look up from his work. "I just want you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me."

"Honestly, sir," He explained modestly. "I'm just doing my job. I-"

"No." I interrupted, rather too abruptly. "You're doing so much more than that. You've gone above and beyond the call of duty, Yosuke. You've been ordered to stop Xena's operation by Chief Medical Officer Kelvin himself, and still you continue to try and save her."

"I have one philosophy in life, Matthew." He told me quietly. "To give help to _anyone_ who needs it. Regardless of who they are, or what they are. Not to question. Not to argue. Just… to help."

"You're a good man, Yosuke." I smiled, trying not to sound patronising as I spoke. "Not enough people follow that ideology. You could've refused to help Xena from the start, but you didn't. You just got to work, without argument. I suppose what I'm really trying to say is… thank you." He smiled warmly as I said this. I got the feeling that not many people openly expressed their gratitude for his efforts.

"You remember what 'Hinkonnoshi' means, don't you, Matthew?" Yosuke said after a few moments of silence.

"I do." I nodded, although I wasn't quite sure why he wanted me to repeat it now. "It's Japanese for 'death in poverty'."

"That's right." He replied distantly. "Death in poverty. Nobody in my family knows exactly where the name originates from. Some people say that it's an omen. That the Hinkonnoshi bloodline is doomed to one day end in precisely that fashion."

"What are you trying to say, Yosuke?" I asked, beginning to grow uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I'm an only child, you know, Matthew." He continued. "My parents are both dead. Old age got to them in the end. And I… can't have children."

"I think I understand." I told him, realising the truth behind his words. "You're-"

"The last Hinkonnoshi." He nodded. "When I die, the bloodline will die with me."

"That's… that's awful." I said, attempting to console the man. "To know that you're the last. That when you're gone, your entire family's gone."

"I know." He replied, clearly distressed by the conversation topic. Even so, he pushed on. "But, in truth, that's not what upsets me the most."

"Then what is?" I asked. I wanted to listen to Yosuke's sorrows. It was the least I could do after he'd listened to mine.

"It's not about me." He explained. "It's not even about the death of the family, in truth. When you die, everything you've worked for in life is gone. You can't take it with you. The least you can hope for is that you will be remembered, that you did all you could for those who'll outlive you."

"I see." I nodded sincerely. "You want to help others, because it's the only way to ensure that you yourself will be remembered."

"When you put it like that, it sounds a little vain." He sighed. "But yes. They say that you're never truly dead until someone says your name for the last time. Although the Hinkonnoshi family may soon cease to exist, our memory, at least, can live on." There was a haunting truth to Yosuke's words. Being the last of the family bloodline to ever live was a hell of a responsibility. All he wanted was for his family to be remembered. To keep the memory of the Hinkonnoshi's alive. And in striving to do the best he possibly could for every patient that came before him, he'd certainly do just that.

"Anyway…" Yosuke continued after a while. "Enough with all the doom and gloom, eh? We've got a Xenomorph to save." I looked up at the clock, and saw that the time was already almost half past four. I hadn't realised just how long Yosuke and I had simply sat and talked. He was up on his feet now, though, busying himself beside the ReStim machine across the room. I went over to see how he was getting on.

"Shouldn't be long now, sir." He assured me. "The machine's frequency is now equal to that of the brainwaves inside Xena's head."

"So, what does that mean?" I asked foolishly. I was just a Navigational Officer, I didn't understand medical science.

"It means she's ready." He beamed. He flicked several switches on the side of the ReStim machine, and fiddled with a number of dials, causing the red light on the front of the machine to start flashing wildly. The monitor which was measuring Xena's brain activity was going crazy at this point.

"What are you doing?" I gasped, worried that the operation wasn't going to end successfully.

"Just matching her brain activity isn't enough." He explained as he continued to work. "The machine will also need to administer a violent electromagnetic shock to the nerve centre in order to 'shake' her awake, as it were."

"Won't that hurt her?" I asked, the word 'violent' ringing in the back of my head.

"It may, a little." He said truthfully. "But it'll last for mere milliseconds. After that, she'll be right as rain, I assure you." And with that, he fell silent once again, concentrating deeply as he prepared to administer the shock. Soon enough, he was ready. The machine had fallen quiet, but the level of activity in Xena's brain remained high, at least according to the monitor. All that was left to do know was shock her.

"You might want to stand clear, Mr Jones." Yosuke told me as he gripped his hand around a huge lever on the side of the ReStim machine. And then, with one short, swift maneuver, he pulled the enormous lever down as far as it could go.

Xena jolted violently as the electricity made it's way into her head. The ReStim machine once again whirred loudly, but this time, it lasted for less than a second. She slumped back down in the medpod once again, and the machine fell silent. Yosuke immediately shut the device down, and ran to switch it off at the wall socket. For a second, I was worried that something had gone wrong. The way he desperately dashed about, making sure all of the equipment was unplugged, made me think that there had been a critical miscalculation. Or something like that.

"What's going on, is she alright?" I asked, my speech rushed.

"Should be." Yosuke said calmly. "The equipment just needs to be powered down in order to prevent a secondary shock."

"So… that's it?" I gasped. "She's alive? As in 'alive' alive? As in 'not dead' alive?"

"Yes!" Yosuke chuckled. "She's alive, Matthew." I simply stared into space, mouth agape. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

"Why don't you be the one to wake her up, eh?" He continued. "I'm sure she'll be happier to see you than me." I simply nodded, and ran over to the side of the medpod. I could still barely believe it. Xena was _alive_. Yosuke had saved her life. In that moment, everything else seemed… irrelevant. I didn't care that I was being forced off the station in three more hours. I didn't care that my son was out prowling the corridors of the Constantinople for his next victim. The only thing that mattered in that moment was that Xena was safe. And I couldn't wait any longer for her to be beside me again.


	17. XVII

**XVII**

As I reached the side of the open medpod, I looked in on the still-dormant Xena. I was reluctant at first, but eventually, I reached out a hand, as slowly as possible to avoid startling her, and placed it on her shoulder.

"Xena?" I said quietly, shaking her gently as I spoke. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?" A few moments went by in silence. I began to fear that the operation may have gone wrong. That it had killed her just seconds after waking her up, or that it simply hadn't woken her up in the first place. However, a few moments later, the silence was broken, as I heard her exhale a heavy, laboured breath.

"Oh my God…" I started shakily, almost too stunned to speak. "She's alive. She's really alive!"

"Looks like the procedure was a success." Yosuke nodded. Modest, as ever. Saving someone's life was a damn sight more than a mere 'success'.

"I can barely believe it." I continued, staring longingly at Xena as I continued to stroke her shoulder. "She-" But suddenly, I was interrupted by a bellowing screech. In a single instant, Xena leaped from the medpod, gripping my right arm tightly. She forced me backwards, slamming me into the wall behind, all the while refusing to relinquish her grip. I'd never been so shocked and terrified in all my life.

"Fucking hell, she's gone insane!" I yelled, desperately trying to wriggle free of Xena's unrelenting grasp. "Yosuke, do something!"

"Like what?" He shouted back, panicked. He began to look around the room desperately for something to attack with.

"Hit her over the back of the head or something!" I continued to shout. "Just get her o-" But before I could finish, Xena slammed her inner jaws into my mouth. I was unable to speak, almost choking as her 'tongue' danced around the inside of my mouth. That was when I realised. She wasn't trying to hurt me. She was trying to kiss me. The only reason that she'd reacted so violently was because she was scared and confused upon being woken up.

Relaxing my muscles in relief, I slowly reached my arms across Xena's back. The two of us became locked in a warm embrace. Our bodies pressed up against each other as we pulled one another closer in. I began to kiss her back, her inner jaws wrapping themselves around my tongue. It felt like so long since I'd last kissed her. I was still so relieved that she was alive and well again. Eventually, I pulled my mouth away from hers, and smiled foolishly as I gazed into her hauntingly empty eyes. She grinned back, her sharp teeth glistening brilliantly in the bright light of the room.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you…" I whispered gently. She nodded back, seemingly in agreement, and then rested her head over my shoulder. I stroked the top of her head slowly, an overwhelming sensation of relied washing over me. Xena was back. And better than ever before.

"Stand back, Matthew!" Yosuke shouted suddenly. I looked over, and saw him running towards me and Xena, wielding a metal dustbin high above his head. He had fire in his eyes, although he didn't really seem like the sort of person who'd fight unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Wait, Yosuke!" I gasped, jumping in front of the man and putting my hands out to stop him. "It's okay, she's harmless." I looked over at Xena, who now cowered in fear in the corner of the room. Honestly, what kind of Xenomorph was afraid of a dustbin?

"Oh." Yosuke said sheepishly, slowly lowering the bin to the ground beside him. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." I chuckled. Then, I went over to Xena, and took her by the hand. Urging her to stay calm, I lead her over to Yosuke slowly, rubbing her hand to calm her down as we walked.

"Yosuke, I'd like you to meet Xena." I smiled. "Xena, this is Doctor-Professor Yosuke Hinkonnoshi. He… he's the man who saved your life."

"Honestly, it was no trouble," said Yosuke. "I-" But before he could finish, Xena had wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a gentle hug.

"T-thank you…" He continued gingerly as Xena stepped back from him, embarrassed. "I was only too happy to help."

"Well, Yosuke," I beamed, placing a hand across Xena's back as I spoke. "I don't think we'll ever be able to thank you enough for this." I looked into Xena's eye… sockets, and she stared back blankly, a huge smile across her face.

"Again, it was really no trouble, Mr Jones." He replied, although I could tell by the smile on his face that he was secretly proud of his work. And rightly so. Because of him, me and Xena could still have a future together. Because of him, she wasn't dead, and I wasn't alone. I gazed at Xena once again, although she now appeared somewhat… perplexed. I asked her what it was that was bothering her. Of course, she struggled to reply. She pointed to herself with one hand, and placed the other at waist height beside her, parallel to the ground.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, confused by the bizarre game of charades which had just been initiated. "Xena… small? Little Xena? Oh! Little Xenomorph! You mean Xanthus, don't you?" She nodded quickly, clearly pleased that she had been understood.

"W-Well…" I stuttered, unsure of how to word my answer so as not to upset her. "You wouldn't mind making us a cup of tea, would you, Yosuke?"

Ten minutes or so later, Xena, Yosuke and I sat around Yosuke's desk. I'd been silently sipping from my mug of tea for several minutes, as had Yosuke. We had made a cup for Xena, but she didn't seem to like it. She did, however, manage to finish off an entire packet of digestives in three seconds flat. Now, I was sat drumming my fingers against the side of my mug loudly. I didn't really know how to begin this conversation. I mean, I couldn't just tell her: "Oh, by the way, Xena, our son's going to be put down because he murdered seven people", could I? I had to tread lightly around such a sensitive subject.

"So here's the thing, Xena," I began. 'Remember, Matthew,' I thought to myself. 'Tread lightly around the subject'.

"Our son's going to be put down because he murdered seven people." I blurted out. 'Subtle, Matthew,' I thought silently. 'Real subtle'. Xena was already visibly upset. Her smile had fallen into a dismayed expression, and she looked down at the ground glumly. However, a couple of seconds later, she began to look _angry_. Then, she began to look _enraged_. Then, she began to look _irate_.

"Why don't you take over, Yosuke?" I asked hurriedly. Yosuke shook his head reluctantly. I nodded back, glaring at him menacingly.

"Y-you see… Xena," He stammered, trying not to anger her even further. "Can I-I call you Xena? Or w-would you prefer 'Mrs Jones'?"

" _Please_ don't call her 'Mrs Jones'." I muttered to Yosuke through gritted teeth.

"Got it." He nodded gingerly. "'Xena' it is. Anyway, Xena… you see, the thing is that your son… what's his name, 'Xanthus'? Well, h-he may or may not be what we would consider here on the Constantinople… a psychopathic mass-murderer."

"Great choice of words, Yosuke." I snapped. Xena still appeared angry, but so distraught at the same time. "Look, Xena, it's not your fault that he's turned out like he has. You've never even met him, after all. The thing is… you're different, Xena. You already know that, don't you? But Xanthus? He's… well, he's not different. He's a merciless killer, by instinct. Just like any other Xenomorph. And he has to be stopped." Xena looked like she was about to cry at this point, although of course she didn't have tear ducts. Or eyes, for that matter.

"I know it's hard to give up a child." Yosuke said, attempting to console her. "Over the years that I've worked on this station, many women have… 'lost' their children. But you have to understand that we can't allow Xanthus to keep killing people." He placed a hand on top of Xena's, squeezing it gently, which did seem to comfort her. Even so, she was still at a loss for words. Or general growling, screeching or purring noises.

"We don't have to be here when they do it, Xena." I assured her, stroking her arm warmly as I did so. "We can leave right now if you want. Maybe it won't be so hard to take if you don't see him before it happens." Xena looked down at the ground again, her breathing becoming heavy and exaggerated. However, after a few moments, she nodded her head slowly.

"You want to go now?" I asked, to confirm what she had meant by the nod. She nodded again, giving me a clear cut answer. So it was decided, then. We would leave the Constantinople right _now_. Best to sneak out whilst it was still early, anyway.

"What time is it, anyway, Yosuke?" I asked. Yosuke looked down at his watch, squinting slightly to read the tiny dials. I could have sworn there was a clock in here earlier, but that could have been my mind playing tricks on me, because when I looked around, I couldn't see one.

"It's quarter past five, sir." Yosuke replied, looking back up. "Mind you, this watch is a few minutes fast."

"Well, a few minutes don't matter." I assured him. "As long as it's not getting too late. Now, Kelvin ordered me to leave the station, with 'dead' Xena, by seven o'clock. If me and 'alive' Xena go now, we should be able to sneak downstairs and board the Syracusia before-"

"Before what?" A voice from the other side of the room interrupted. I turned around in my chair suddenly, and who did I see standing in the doorway? That's right, it was none other than Chief Medical Officer Kelvin! For several seconds, he simply stood there, staring into the room silently, his cold eyes piercing my very soul. 'Jesus Christ,' I thought to myself. 'We were _this_ fucking close!' Why did this have to happen now? Right now? _Really_?

"Go on, Matthew," Kelvin continued, walking towards the desk with a maddened grin plastered across his face. "Finish that sentence. Before _what_?"


	18. XVIII

**XVIII**

"Well?" Kelvin demanded impatiently, his nostrils flaring with anger. "I'm waiting for an answer, Jones."

"I-" I attempted, but Kelvin interrupted before I could even finish thinking about how I was going to finish that sentence.

"And Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi?" He said, shaking his head. "I really expected better of you. I thought I could trust you. But apparently not."

"I'm sorry, sir." Yosuke mumbled. His face was solemn, but he seemed like he was unwilling to let this go. "You have to understand, though, that I couldn't just let Matthew's partner die. I think you underestimate how much they really care about each other."

"Care?" Kelvin said with a maddened chuckle. "You really think that that _thing_ cares, Yosuke?"

"Yes, she does." I said sternly. I looked over at Xena, who gave me a comforting nod. "She does care. And I care about her."

"Matthew," Kelvin continued, his voice suddenly becoming oddly… gentle. "Take a good, long look. Do you honestly believe that this… _that_ , is capable of compassion?"

"I do." I assured him proudly. "I believe that she's more capable of compassion than any human I've ever known."

"Oh, please." He said, chuckling again. "Are we talking about the same thing here, Matthew? I don't know who you're on about, but I was referring to that thing over there. You know, the one that looks like it just crawled out of a primordial swamp." Suddenly, Xena became enraged. She screeched loudly, and bolted towards Kelvin at break-neck speed. I ran to grab her, pulling her away from the smug-faced man.

"It's not worth it, Xena!" I shouted, as I desperately tried to calm her down. "If you hurt him, you're only proving his point." Reluctantly, Xena stepped back, although she was still breathing heavily, and staring at Kelvin coldly as she did so.

"Anyway," Kelvin continued, completely unfazed by Xena's sudden outburst. "Regardless of what you think 'Xena' may or may not feel, I gave Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi strict orders to halt the operation immediately, and he has blatantly disregarded that order!"

"You said I could take her with me, anyway!" I snapped at the man. "What difference does it make as long as we're both gone by 7 o'clock?"

"It makes the world of difference, actually, Matthew." He replied sinisterly. "Do you have any idea how many stations there are in the entire _galaxy_ with access to Re-Stimulation equipment? Six! That's right, only _six_. And that includes the Constantinople."

"What exactly are you getting at?" I asked, puzzled by the man's logic.

"It's simple really, Matthew." Kelvin assured me menacingly. "I knew that if you left with your little friend here dead… she'd stay dead."

I felt so angry right now. I wanted to hurt Kelvin, and I mean really hurt him. Perhaps even kill him, in fact. I was tempted turn to Xena and tell her to go crazy, to let her Xenomorph instincts take hold, and finish him there and then. But I had to restrain myself, lest I become no better than him.

"What is your problem, Kelvin?" I asked boldly, plucking up the courage to confront the vile man.

"What do you mean 'what's my problem'?" He asked back, furrowing his enormous ginger brow in confusion.

"You know full well what I mean." I assured him. "Now you can't blame someone for hating Xenomorphs, they don't do themselves any favours, after all. But I've never met someone so… narrow-minded. Why can't you accept that Xena isn't the same as Xanthus? That she's not a killer?"

"You really want to know?" He remarked, his face becoming more distraught than angry now. "Well, I'll tell you."

"You remember my cousin that I told you about, don't you, Matthew?" He asked. "The one who worked for Weyland-Yutani?"

"Yes…" I replied slowly. "Wait, what do you mean 'worked'?"

"Please, let me finish." He muttered quietly. "Anyway, you remember me telling you about her? Well, she was never a particularly cheerful woman. Cooped up in a laboratory, studying Xenomorphs all the time, who could blame here? But I remember one evening, she came around for a cup of tea. She had a massive smile on her face. Massive, it was. Said they'd been doing some tests on 'the specimens' ability to kill non-human prey'. Anyway, she explained that they'd been putting live goats into the Xenomorph enclosures, to study how exactly they kill their prey. There was this one Xenomorph, though, that didn't kill the goat it was given. In fact, it kept the goat alive and well all afternoon. Petting it, stroking it, everything."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked, interrupting Kelvin's story abruptly.

"Can you just be patient and listen, Matthew?" He muttered again. "Now, where was I? Oh yes. So, my cousin said she was pretty intrigued by the Xenomorph's unusual behaviour. I told her it was probably nothing to get excited about. When she came around the next day, though, she told me that they'd given the same Xenomorph another goat, and that it had reacted in exactly the same way. It was almost treating the goat as a pet. This happened again the next day, and the next day, and the next day, for an entire week. Anyway, she came around the next week with an even bigger smile on her face. She said that she'd spoken to some of the higher ups about the unusual Xenomorph. They'd taken an interest in it's apparent ability to demonstrate compassion, just like she had. And so they'd decided that the only way to test this further was to put a human in the Xenomorph's chamber."

"Oh." I said quietly. "I think I'm beginning to understand now."

"She had volunteered to be the one who entered the chamber." He continued, nodding slowly. "She said she was a hundred percent confident that this Xenomorph wasn't going to hurt her. Reckoned it was really a compassionate creature, that it did have a capacity to care for others. Of course, I told her that her decision was ill-advised. She told me she was going to do it anyway. I got a phone call the next morning. From Weyland-Yutani."

"No…" I said hesitantly. "It wasn't… Was it?"

"They told me there'd been an accident." He replied distantly. "Didn't say what had caused the accident, of course. Not that it was difficult for me to put two and two together. It killed her, Matthew. Lulled her into a false sense of security, and then killed her."

"I…I'm sorry." I mumbled, truly upset by Kelvin's story.

"Don't be." He replied bluntly. "It won't change what happened, will it? The point is that that Xenomorph manipulated her, Matthew. It made her think that it cared, and then struck when she tried to interact with it further."

"You think that Xena's doing the same to me, don't you?" I asked blankly. He simply nodded glumly. I glanced over at Xena, who was shaking her head slowly. I understood Kelvin's concerns, but come one. This was Xena we were talking about here! I _knew_ that she loved me, I _knew_ that she cared. Kelvin was wrong, because deep down inside, I knew that the love I felt for Xena was genuine. Wasn't it?

"Y-you're wrong." I stuttered, shaking my head quickly as I did so. "She isn't like that. What happened to your cousin is tragic, but Xena's different."

"Is she, Matthew?" Kelvin asked again. "Is she _really_?" His face was solemn, but the way he spoke made it seem as if he was the one doing the manipulating. Making me think that Xena was plotting to kill me, trying to get inside my head by making me think that she was trying to get inside my head. Well it wouldn't work.

"Look, it's your decision, Matthew." He continued bluntly. "She's alive now, isn't she? It's up to you whether you choose to believe her."

"I do believe her." I assured him again. "And I'm sure that Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi will back me up on it."

"Absolutely." Yosuke nodded. "I'm sorry to say so, sir, but I believe Matthew's right. Xena's intentions seem genuine enough to me."

"Like I said, your decision." Kelvin repeated. "You'll be off the station soon enough, after all. Anyway, that's not even why I came up here in the first place."

"Then why did you come here?" I asked, sounding a little more forceful than I'd intended to.

"I've come here because of your son, actually, Matthew." He continued plainly.

"What about him?" I enquired, though I suspected the answer was glaringly obvious.

"We believe we've found him." He explained. "Or at least, we've a rough idea of where he might be."

"I see..." I said hesitantly. "And why did you have to come and tell me this? I'm supposed to be leaving in an hour and a half, in case you don't remember."

"That was the original plan, yes." Kelvin explained. "Then I had a better idea."

"Which was?" I asked, although I could already see what he was going to say.

"There's a search party heading down to the lower docks at 10 o'clock." He told me. "The aim is to find the Xenomorph and kill it. You will lead that search party."

I was dumbfounded, to say the least. After I was just beginning to feel sorry for the man, as well. Why did Kelvin insist on making my life such a misery? Where did he get off on watching me suffer. I get that he'd had a hard life, but I wasn't exactly living the high life myself.

"Why do I have to do this?" I asked angrily. "You have plenty of security operatives on this station. Why should I lead the search party?"  
"It seemed… fitting." Kelvin explained sinisterly. I just wanted to rip that smug grin right of his fucking face.

"In what way?" I said through gritted teeth, trying, and failing, to compose myself.

"You created him, Matthew." He said, clearly disgusted by this very fact. "You can destroy him." He chuckled slightly as he said this, like he'd just made some humorous remark. But the situation was far from humorous. In fact, it was unthinkably horrific. I had to kill my own son.


	19. XIX

**XIX**

"You can't do this, Kelvin." I whispered, shaking my head.

"Oh, I think you'll find that I can, Matthew." He replied smugly, grinning throughout. His entire demeanor sickened me.

"What makes you think that you can force me to shoot my own son?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Two words." He replied bluntly. "Well, one word. Wait, is it… I'm going to blackmail you, Matthew."

"Blackmail?" I remarked, confused. What the hell are you talking about?" But Kelvin did not reply. Instead, he simply raised a hand into the air, and gestured towards me and Xena. Suddenly, a group of fully armed security operatives burst into the room. They immediately stormed towards me and Xena. I glanced at her solemnly, telling her not to resist. A few moments later, both of us were restrained.

"Sir, you really can't-" Yosuke tried, but was immediately silenced by Kelvin.

"Would you like to be restrained too, Doctor-Professor?" He said coolly. Yosuke didn't reply. Instead, he sat back down in his chair quietly.

"Very good. Now, here's what's going to happen, Matthew." Kelvin continued, looking back at me coldly. "You _are_ going to lead that search party to the lower decks and kill your son. Otherwise…" He wandered over to one of the security operatives, relieving him of his weapon, a medium-sized energy burst pistol. He cocked the gun promptly, and then walked over to Xena with it.

"…I'll kill her." He finished, pointing the gun directly at Xena's head. She looked angry, but I shook my head, urging her not to rise to Kelvin. "What do you say to that, eh?"

"Well, first of all, that's not _technically_ blackmail." I said cockily. "It's more like extortion, or a hostage situation, really." I stared at Kelvin sternly as I said this. He was seemingly unfazed by the remark, although I knew that he was not amused by my showing him up.

"You'll do well to remember, Matthew," He replied plainly, "that I am currently holding a loaded gun to your partner's head." Xena nodded slowly, as if to say 'he's right, you know'. I shrugged my shoulders at her gingerly. 'Just trying to make the best of a difficult situation,' I thought to myself.

"It's entirely your decision, Jones." Kelvin continued, slowly moving the pistol even closer to Xena's head. "But a Xenomorph _will_ die today. So tell me: will it be 'Xanthus'? Or will it be 'Xena'?" He moved yet closer, so that the barrel of the gun was actually pressed against the side of Xena's head. I sighed deeply, knowing that there was only one thing for it. Whilst I hated myself for it, I just couldn't let Xena go again.

"ll'kll'Xnths." I mumbled, too afraid to even say it aloud, lest I be condoned for my decision.

"Beg your pardon?" Kelvin asked, furrowing his brow slightly as he spoke.

"I'll… kll'Xnths." I repeated, slightly louder this time, but all the same inaudible to anyone other than the two security operatives directly beside me.

"Didn't quite catch that." He continued, now actually lowering the gun from Xena's head and coming closer to hear what I was saying.

"I'll kill Xanthus!" I shouted, much more clearly this time. "Happy now?" Kelvin didn't reply to this. He simply smiled evilly, lowering his weapon and handing it back to the security operative who owned it. As the guard silently holstered the pistol, Kelvin slowly wandered back over to me. He leaned in incredibly close to my face, his every breath echoing in my ears.

"You've made the right decision, Matthew." He whispered, grinning, yet again, as he spoke. I couldn't take this for much longer. This man was literally driving me insane. He'd taken me captive, he'd threatened my partner _at gunpoint_ , and he'd ordered my son to be killed, all the while with that smug fucking grin plastered across his face. What's more, he'd reeled of some two-bit sob story about his cousin, which was entirely centered on the _assumption_ that she was killed, mind you, and then expected me to go 'oh, well in that case, you're forgiven'! I absolutely loathed Kelvin. I'd never despised anyone so much in all my life. Not even Ryan Goddard had been able to invoke such overwhelming dislike in me, and he was the one who'd killed Xena in the first place! But, despite all of this, I knew that I had to obey him. Once I had done what he wanted, me and Xena could leave. We'd never have to hear from him again. Even so, it pained me that I had no choice but to bow down to his commands.

"The search party leaves in five hours." Kelvin told me, stepping back slowly as he did so. "Until then, why don't you return to your quarters? You look shattered." He grinned smugly one last time, then turned towards the door, and began to walk away.

"And Xena?" I asked boldly. Okay, so I was going to bow down to the man, but I wasn't going to lie down on the floor and crawl on my belly across hot coals for him. I had to have _some_ freedoms, didn't I?

"What about her?" He replied, looking back at me sternly.

"Can she come with me?" I explained. "Or would you rather she didn't leave your sight for so much as two seconds?" He bit the side of his lip, both annoyed by my remark, and indecisive over whether or not he'd agree to my request. Eventually, though, he had an answer.

"I suppose so." He muttered quietly. "But just bear in mind, Jones, that your quarters are going to be guarded by a team of fully-armed security operatives. So don't get any ideas about making a hasty getaway." I nodded slowly in agreement, although in fairness, I hadn't even considered the possibility of trying to escape. And now that I did think about it, it seemed like a pretty good idea. You know, apart from the fact that it had already been entirely anticipated by Kelvin. Apart from that one small detail, it was a pretty good idea.

"Escort Matthew and his partner here to their living quarters." Kelvin ordered one of the security operatives. He nodded, and then gestured to the others, who immediately began to march Xena and I towards the door. I tried to look back over my shoulder at Yosuke as we left, but it was no use. I did worry somewhat about what was going to happen to him, although this was offset by how much I was worried about everything else right now.

It took little more than five minutes for the escort to reach our living quarters. The security operatives ushered Xena and I into the tiny room without so much as a word exchanged between us. The door was abruptly slammed shut by one of the operatives, leaving me and Xena in total silence for several moments. Eventually, I slumped down on the bed, glum, tired, and still unsure of how we were going to come out of this mess unscathed.

"Oh, Xena," I sighed heavily, closing my eyes and wishing for all of my troubles to just disappear. "What are we going to do, eh?" She made a quiet hissing sound as she sat down beside me, as if to say: 'What indeed?' I could tell by the look on her face that she was just as upset as I was by this whole sorry affair. Xanthus was our son, after all, and it took a lot of emotional preparation before you undertook such a task as killing your own son.

"I don't want to do this any more than you do, Zee." I assured her, squeezing her hand warmly as I spoke. "But it's the only way…" She nodded glumly, knowing that I was right. There really was no other choice but to do as Kelvin asked…

I looked up at the tiny clock above the doorway wearily. It was now half past five, and I felt unbelievably tired. I simply had to get some rest.

"I'm going to need to go to sleep for a bit, Xena." I explained, slowly lying down on the tiny bed as I spoke. She growled quietly, clearly upset that I wasn't going to stay up and console her about what was going to happen later that day. But I couldn't stay awake for much longer.

"I'll think of something." I told her gently, as my eyelids slowly began to close themselves. "Just let me sleep on it." As I finally began to drift to sleep, I felt a sharp pain in my side. I looked up, and saw Xena struggling to climb over me into the bed.

"What are you doing?!" I gasped, shocked by the very thought of Xena and I sharing a bed. Although it _had_ happened once before, it just felt so… strange to sleep in the same bed as her. Was I a horrible person for even thinking that? For not wanting to share a bed with my own partner? Xena looked at me sadly, and I realised that, sooner or later, it was bound to happen. I just had to loosen up a bit.

"Get in." I sighed, lying back down and closing my eyes once again. Xena growled happily, and clambered in to the bed behind me. I felt her wrap her arms around me, engaging me in a warm embrace, with her head resting against the back of my own. I smiled happily as she pressed herself up against my back. This was what I'd missed the most about Xena while she'd been gone. The fact that, no matter how tired I was, no matter how upset or angry, she could always make it all just… melt away. When I was with her, I forgot all of life's problems. I was at peace.

"Xena?" I mumbled, my voice obscured by the pillow beneath my head. She growled softly in reply. "I really did miss you, you know." I felt her embrace tighten slightly, and she rubbed her head against the back of my own. From this alone, I knew that she had missed me too.

"You know," I continued, rolling onto my back as I did so. "It occurs to me that, this time tomorrow, one of us could be dead. Maybe both of us." Xena didn't reply, probably not understanding the point I was trying to make.

"I just…" I explained. "I just think, if this is the last night we spend together, maybe we should… make it worthwhile. Do you know what I mean?" Again, Xena's only response was to look at me confused and perplexed.

"You know what, forget it." I said quickly. "Silly idea, anyway." I turned back over, facing away from her, and closed my eyes hastily. 'Idiot!' I was screaming in my own head. 'You're an idiot, Matthew!' But then, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I rolled over slowly, only to find my lips meeting with Xena's mouth. She slowly pulled me closer, and we began to kiss. For several seconds it went on, until eventually, we separated. I stared into Xena's blank, eyeless face, almost in a trance. She simply smiled back at me gently.

"So, is that a yes?" I asked foolishly. Xena snorted quietly, and nodded her head with a wide smile. We engaged in another kiss, this time lasting for much longer than the one before it. I knew in that moment that Kelvin couldn't possibly be right about her. This couldn't be a cleverly coordinated manipulation, it just couldn't. What Xena and I had together was genuine. No doubt about it. And I wasn't going to just give up and let it all go now. I won't go into detail about what happened between us that morning. I'm sure you can figure that much out for yourself. Needless to say, it provided more than ample proof that our affections for one another were sincere. And it was certainly a morning that I won't soon forget.


	20. XX

**XX**

A few hours later, I was awoken by a loud knocking sound. At first, I thought nothing of the sound, barely even stirring in my bed. Then I heard it again, and murmured to myself about how I was trying to sleep, and didn't people have better things to do than knock on my door all morning? However, the third time I heard the noise, it was much louder, as if whoever was doing the knocking was growing impatient.

"Who is it?" I mumbled, my voice dampened by the pillow pressed against my face.

"It's Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi, sir." Came a voice from outside. I heard the voice quite clearly, although it barely registered in my head, as I was still half-asleep.

"What do you want?" I asked, rather impolitely. I slowly sat up, rubbing my tired eyes as I did so. I looked around the room hazily, and saw that Xena was still sound asleep beside me. I also noticed that I was not fully clothed. In fact, I wasn't clothed at all. Given what had happened earlier that morning, though, I wasn't overly surprised by this. Again, I'd rather not go into great detail about what Xena and I did, suffice to say that it _did_ involve me not wearing my clothes, which were now scattered across the floor of the room untidily.

"It's half past nine, sir." "Yosuke continued, his voice muffled by the thick, metal door between us. "Mr. Kelvin wants you up and ready to go in twenty minutes." I looked up at my clock drearily, and saw that Yosuke was right. The morning was slowly ticking away from us, and soon I'd have to face the music. Well, not music, per se. More like the agonized screams of my own son as I slaughtered him where he stood.

"Just give me a few minutes." I told Yosuke, yawning loudly mid-sentence. "And don't come in!"

"Pardon, sir?" He replied. "I can't hear you very well through the door. I'd better come in." Of course.

"No, don't come in!" I shouted, desperately struggling to conceal myself under the bed covers as Yosuke burst through the door loudly.

"Oh." He exclaimed quietly, immediately realising that I was completely naked.

"Yeah…" I said, trying to avoid eye contact with Hinkonnoshi by looking around the room awkwardly.

"Did you?" He asked hesitantly. I knew at once what he was implying.

"Mmm-hmm." I nodded, looking down at the floor where my clothes were still scattered.

"So you-" He continued, for some reason intent on making this the topic of conversation.

"Yep." I interrupted quickly. I'd gone bright red by this point, and still clutched the bed covers tightly in front of my chest.

"I…I'll just… wait outside, eh?" Yosuke mumbled foolishly, pointing over his shoulder at the door.

"Would you?" I asked sarcastically. Yosuke simply continued nodding, and made his way out of the room without another word. As soon as the door had slid shut behind him, I slumped back down onto the bed with a hand against my forehead. Well played, Matthew. Well fucking played.

"Get up, Zee." I muttered, nestling myself beneath the covers for a few final moments of tranquility. She simply sighed heavily.

"Yeah, I don't want to, either." I assured her, yawning wearily again. "But we don't exactly have much choice, now do we?" As she sighed again, I climbed out of the bed, stretching my aching arms as I did so. I went around the tiny room, picking up my clothes and in a few minutes I was fully dressed. By this point, Xena was also up and out of bed, although of course, she didn't have any clothes to put on.

"Ready to go?" I asked. She nodded in reply. I walked over to the door and pulled it open slowly. As we stepped out into the corridor, the first thing I noticed was that there were still no less than four security operatives stationed outside the room. I wondered if they'd been there all morning. I also wondered how soundproof my room actually was. Yosuke was also waiting outside, and gave me a curt nod as I looked at him glumly.

"All sorted now, sir?" He asked quietly. I simply nodded quickly. At least Yosuke knew a thing or two about discretion, eh?

"Where are we meeting Kelvin?" I enquired, looking around and seeing that the aforementioned wasn't already here.

"I'm afraid I don't know, sir." Yosuke told me. "But an escort will be here for you shortly."

"I see." I assured him, sighing heavily. I turned to Xena, who was looking around like a rabbit in headlights. She wasn't particularly used to being around heavily armed people and _not_ being shot at or restrained by them. I squeezed her hand gently, assuring her that everything would be alright.

"Oh, there is one other thing." Yosuke explained solemnly. "I'm afraid that Xena will have to stay here. Mr Kelvin's orders."

"Ah." I replied hesitantly. "Well, we'd best not upset him any more than we already have, eh?" I sighed once again, and looked at Xena apologetically. She appeared quite clearly upset by this. I put my arms around her slowly, embracing her in a warm hug to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Xena." I whispered to her gently. "Everything's going to be fine. You'll see." She growled quietly, and our embrace tightened. I was tempted to kiss her again, but given that we were surrounded by a number of people, most of whom were armed, I decided against it.

"That's quite enough of that, Jones." Came a voice from down the corridor. "You can get all lovey-dovey with that thing once we're finished with the other one." I broke myself away from Xena, and looked around to see Security Commander Liam Davison marching down the corridor towards us. His usual band of operatives accompanied him, three of them in all.

"Davison?" I asked as he approached. "You're my escort?"

"Oh, I think you'll find I'm much more than that, sir." He replied ominously. "Me and my team here are in the search party with you."

"Is that so?" I remarked. "And Kelvin's coming too, isn't he?" Davison simply nodded silently. This just kept getting better and better…

"Well, would you look at the time?" Davison continued, looking down at his wristwatch. "Officer Kelvin'll be waiting for us now."

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked. I still wasn't exactly sure what Kelvin's plan of action was.

"Well, first we're going to meet up with Officer Kelvin in Light Craft Docking Area Kepler 10." He explained. "Then, we'll begin searching the lower decks for the creature."

"And if we don't find him?" I enquired. "I think you might be underestimating a Xenomorph's ability to hide."

"Perhaps." He remarked. "But I know the Constantinople like the back of my hand. Trust me, we'll find that thing sooner or later. Now, let's get moving." And with that, he simply turned away and started to walk off down the corridor. I jogged to catch up with him, looking back over my shoulder at Xena as I went. She stared at me longingly, her facial expression one of disdain.

"Don't worry, Zee!" I called to her as I reached the end of the corridor. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" She smiled, but her face was laced with sorrow.

"Take good care of her, Yosuke!" I shouted to Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi. He simply nodded solemnly. I knew if there was anyone I could trust to look after Xena, it was him. And with that, I pushed my way through the double doors at the end of the corridor, and left the two behind.

Several minutes later, I had managed to catch up with the security operatives, and we had now arrived at Light Craft Docking Area Kepler 10. This was the same docking area where this whole disaster had begun. This was where the Syracusia still stood, devoid of life, whilst Xanthus roamed the ship, looking for his next victim. But not for much longer. For soon, the search part would head out. To put a stop to this once and for all. Either we came back with Xanthus dead… or we didn't come back at all.

"Now then," Davison announced, looking around the empty docking area. "Officer Kelvin should be here soon."

"Way ahead of you, Liam," called a voice from the far side of the room. I turned around, and saw that Kelvin had just walked in, right on schedule.

"Ah, sir." Davison replied, walking over to greet him. "I've brought Jones down. We're ready when you are."

"Excellent." Kelvin said cheerfully. I don't know why he was in such a good mood, but then again, he was a pretty twisted block. Maybe he just enjoyed spending his mornings hunting down murderous Xenomorphs and then returning the favour. Who can tell?

"What about you, Matthew?" He continued chirpily. "You ready and raring to go?"

"Oh, yes." I said sarcastically. "I just relish the thought of killing my own son first thing in the morning."

"That's the spirit!" He replied enthusiastically. I couldn't stand him. I just couldn't stand him. Or Security Commander Davison, for that matter. But, it wasn't like I really had much choice right now. The sooner this was over and done with, the sooner Xena and I could leave, and put this whole sorry affair behind us.

"So, what's the plan, sir?" Davison asked, eager to get underway. He was just as bad as Kelvin. Kelvin didn't answer his question, he was too busy fumbling around inside a large backpack that he had brought with him. He produced from it a long rifle, which he thrust into my arms as he came closer.

"You'll need this." He explained as he passed me the heavy weapon. "Electrocution rifle."

"Thanks." I muttered, slinging the gun over my shoulder.  
"And this." He continued. He reached into his backpack once again, and drew from it a small combat knife.

"You know this won't do anything." I assured him, reluctantly taking the sharp blade from him.

"It's a precautionary measure." He told me. "If the worst comes to the worst… well, you know."

"Wait a minute…" I said hesitantly, realising the intention behind the knife. "Are you suggesting that we commit suicide if we get cornered?"

"Okay, people, let's move out!" Kelvin called to the rest of the group, completely ignoring my question. I looked down at the knife once again. 'I don't think so,' I thought to myself silently. I slipped the knife into my pocket anyway, of course. Like Kelvin said, precautionary measure. When I looked up, the group was already leaving the room. I jogged to catch up with them once again as they headed out into the corridor. 'This is it, Matthew,' I said to myself as I caught up with the others. 'The 'now or never' moment.'


	21. XXI

**XXI**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. It's been a while since I spoke to you at the start of a chapter like this, but I've been so concentrated on getting the story written, I'd completely forgotten about it. Rest assured, though, because I have been reading everybody's reviews, and taking into account your thoughts and feedback on the story so far. That being said, we are now within the last ten chapters of the end of the story. That's right, folks, just ten chapters to go. But how, oh how, will it end? Will the search party find Xanthus? Will Matthew have the guts to kill his own son? To find out, just read on, and as always, enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

There are a lot of assertions that one might make about the nature of a Xenomorph hunt. After all, you've most likely never been on one, and probably don't know anybody who has. But there are certain… assumptions that you could make about the experience. For example, you might think that hunting Xenomorphs would be an exciting, action-packed adventure of terror and destruction. You might think that people who actively hunted Xenomorphs were obviously cool-headed badarses (or badasses, for our American readers) with balls of solid steel. Perhaps even titanium alloy, come to think of it. And of course, you might think that these badarses/badasses would laugh in the face of danger, wiping out a dozen Xenomorphs in twenty seconds flat, and then taking a sip from an ice-cold bottle of Coca-Cola, or Pepsi, if you'd prefer, like nothing had happened. But you'd be wrong. For one, we didn't have any Coca-Cola. Or Pepsi, for that matter. But as me and the rest of the search party began on our frankly suicidal journey into the unknown, I looked around for a moment, at each one of them, and realised that a lack of carbonated soft drinks were just the tip of the iceberg.

There were six of us in all. The same number of people, in fact, who had been on the Archimedes at the time of it's own Xenomorph attack. And some of the people with me now drew surprising parallels with my old crewmen. Kelvin reminded me of Alan Grike, Senior Lieutenant and leader of the Archimedes' crew. He was short-tempered, and he flaunted his authority. The only difference was that Kelvin didn't seem even remotely phased by the impending threat before us, whereas Alan would have gone running to the nearest safe spot. Then there was Davison. He was more of a Ryan Goddard type of guy. 1st Technician, 1st rate boot-licker. Always sucking up to people above his station, apart from me, for some reason. No emotion, and seemingly, no fear. The rest of the team were more difficult to pin down. Apart from the fact that one of them was a woman, like Cara Holmes, Warrant Officer of the Archimedes, had been, there was little comparison to make between them and my former crew members.

Then there was the situation we were in. A medical officer, a navigational officer, and four security personnel against one eight-foot tall killing machine. Fair enough, back on the Archimedes, it had been a medical officer, a navigational officer, two technicians and a… whatever Alan's job actually involved, against an eight-foot tall killing machine, and we'd won, but the situation had been different then. For a start, the Xenomorph had had a lot less space to run, and a lot fewer places to hide, on the Archimedes. Here, Xanthus had hundreds of miles of ventilation shafts, a dozen or so decks, and countless masses of corridors to play around with. All of this, combined with the fact that I was absolutely starving , having eaten a grand total of five digestive biscuits and three ginger nuts since my arrival on the Constantinople, meant that I was really, and I mean _really_ , not ready for this. Not only was there the fear and tension of being stalked by a killer alien with a taste for human flesh, but also the anxious anticipation for the emotional shit-show that would surely follow when I had to wipe my own flesh and blood from the face of the… station.

As the last hours of the morning slowly dissipated, and noon eventually came upon us, the situation only worsened. We hadn't yet found anything that could signify the presence of _any_ life form, let alone any trace of Xanthus. Tensions were running high in the group by this point. Of course, nobody had actually spoken a single word since we first left the docking area two hours ago, but trust me, they were high. I could tell by the way that everyone kept glaring back and forth between one another. Constant, relentless glaring. I even indulged in a little glaring myself, mostly at Kelvin, who kindly returned the favour with a pretty lengthy glare of his own. It wasn't until around one in the afternoon that somebody actually said something. It was one of the security operatives, and at first, nobody took any notice of him. We'd been in complete silence for so long, everybody had simply not heard what he said. He then repeated himself, slightly louder this time, although there was clear caution in his voice.

"There's something over there." The operative announced, pointing shakily towards a large indentation in the wall a little way down the corridor. I squinted to see into the shadowed area, and saw a small, dark mass layed still within it. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it seemed much too small to be Xanthus. Kelvin slowly signaled to the group to close in on the indented panel, and we approached cautiously, guns at the ready. As we got closer, though, it became quite apparent that whatever was laying in there was already very much dead. Kelvin pointed a torch into the shadows, illuminating the figure spectacularly. My face fell in horror at the sight before me, as did those of almost everyone else in the group. A small child, around ten years old, by the looks of it, layed completely still in the tiny space. She must have been trying to hide here, but to no avail. Her face was contorted with terror, her eyes wide with fear. Her left leg had been completely severed, and she was surrounded by a pool of her own blood. It was an image that still scars me to this day. A defenseless, innocent little girl, killed in cold blood. It was sick, it was cruel. It didn't have to happen.

"Good lord." Kelvin mumbled, staring in bewilderment at the sight before him. Even he had a look of unshakable remorse on his face.

"Nobody's safe from this thing." Davison muttered in response, gazing emptily at the child as he spoke. "Men, women, children. The sick, the disabled, the elderly. It'll kill anyone that gets in it's way. This is why we have to stop it." There was a murmur of approval from the rest of the group.

"We're on the right track." Kelvin remarked bluntly. "That's the only consolation we can draw from this. We have to keep searching."

"And what about her?" I asked, looking once again at the young girl beside us. "We can't leave her here. Her parents will have to be told. We-"

"There's nothing we can do right now, Matthew." Kelvin continued solemnly. "We need everybody here to continue the search. We'll come back for her as soon as-"

"Come back for her?" I repeated, almost chuckling at the idiocy demonstrated by Kelvin here. "And what's to say that Xanthus won't come back for her? To take what's left of her body before her parents even find out what's happened? Somebody has to take her back, or at least stay here with her."

Kelvin looked down at the ground, slightly annoyed, slightly confused. It was certainly a difficult situation, to say the least.

"Fine." He eventually muttered, pointing to one of the security operatives within the group. "You. What's your name?"

"Security Operative Harold Brindley, sir." The man replied reluctantly, clearly not keen on the idea of being left alone down here.

"Well, Brindley," Kelvin continued, "you'll stay here and guard this girl's body until we return. If you see the Xenomorph… kill it." Brindley didn't reply, but nodded gingerly at Kelvin's command. I could tell by the look in his eye that he already knew. Staying here alone was suicide. But what else could we do? If anyone else stayed, there'd only be four of us left in the group. And then what we do if Xanthus showed his face? On the other hand, if we didn't leave anyone, Xanthus could come back and take the child. And I simply couldn't bear the thought of that happening…

"The rest of you, come on." Kelvin announced, stepping away briskly down the corridor. "We need to keep moving." Davison and the other two security operatives obeyed, as did I, albeit reluctantly. As we continued moving, I turned to look back at Brindley.

"I'm sorry." I called back to him as the others rounded a corner at the end of the corridor.

"Quite alright, sir." Brindley replied, trying to sound confident but nonetheless failing. "Don't you worry about me."

"…Good luck, Brindley." I said reassuringly, nodding solemnly at the man, who returned a similar gesture. And with that, I quickly rounded the corner of the corridor to catch up with the others. Whether we'd ever see Brindley again was a question nobody knew the answer to at this point. But as we continued deeper into the ship, his absence created a clear atmosphere of discomfort amongst us all.

The next half an hour seemed to drag on for a lifetime. So many thoughts were circulating in my mind, I could barely concentrate on the task at hand. We hadn't found anything else since… since Brindley had left the group. But as we journeyed yet deeper into the bowels of the Constantinople, I began to get the sinking feeling that our search would soon come up with some result. Kelvin apparently shared this view, as he was listening out for every tiny noise he could here by this point. He kept stopping the group after every creak of the floor, every groan of the pipes. I would say that this was paranoia, but given that we really were right in the middle of a potential ambush right now, I don't think the word 'paranoia' would be suitable. I can, however, safely use the words 'fruitless', 'hopeless', pointless', and many other '-less'es to describe these activities. For no matter how many times we stopped and listened, it always turned out to be nothing more than background noise. That is, of course, until…

"Wait." Kelvin whispered suddenly, putting a hand in the air to silence the group. "Can you hear that?"

"With all due respect, sir," Davison replied wearily. "You've been asking that for the last half an hour, and nobody else can-"

"Hold on." One of the security operatives, the female one, interrupted. "I can hear it too." Everybody in the group suddenly fell completely silent. We listened out carefully, straining our ears to the utmost. And then I heard it. A low, quiet rumbling sound, who's origin I couldn't quite pinpoint.

"What is that?" Davison asked, also detecting the noise. He looked around, confused, as if he too was trying to locate the noise's origin.

"I don't know…" Kelvin murmured, half to himself and half to the group. "It sounds like… growling." I listened carefully to the noise once more, and realised that he was right. It was almost indistinguishable from the quiet throb of distant machinery, but it was most certainly a growl. And that could only mean one thing…

"It's… _it_. Isn't it?" The other male security operative asked in a hushed tone. I nodded silently, not daring to speak at this point, lest I make too much noise. Suddenly, I heard the growling again, this time much louder. The rest of the group also heard it, and began to look around, worried expressions on their faces. Once the growl sounded a third time, louder still, it became apparent that we were in danger. But from which direction?

"T-Th…" The operative stuttered suddenly. He slowly lifted his hand, and pointed a finger down the corridor behind us. I immediately wheeled around to see what he was pointing at. As if it wasn't already glaringly obvious. I wished for it to not be real. How I wished. But it was. An incredibly tall figure loomed in the shadows down the corridor. I could tell by the shape of the silhouette that it was not human. The sound of growling filled the corridor once more, and the figure stepped forwards slowly. In the dim light of the dark corridor, I could now see some of the features of the figure. Large, bulbous head. Long, pointed tail. Thick 'spines' protruding from it's back. It was unmistakable. It was a Xenomorph. It was Xanthus.


	22. XXII

**XXII**

"Xanthus?" I called out hesitantly, stepping in front of the rest of the group. "Is that you?" The Xenomorph responded with a quite growl, which didn't really constitute an answer, but I thought it was safe to assume that it was, in fact, him.

"It's me, Xanthus." I continued meekly, trying to sound confident, but being secretly terrified of what might happen next. "Your dad." The Xenomorph stepped forwards, its black armor brilliantly reflecting the light cast by the fluorescent strip bulb above. Reluctantly, it approached me, appearing cautious and confused. I could tell by this alone that it _had_ to be Xanthus. No other Xenomorph would display such… human emotion. I looked back at the rest of the group, all of whom had taken a considerable number of steps back by this point. But I wasn't afraid. Not anymore. Because I knew that he wouldn't hurt me. I knew that somewhere, deep down inside, Xanthus was good. I knew that I could change him.

"Listen, Xanthus." I began calmly, giving him a reassuring smile as I did so. "I know that you've done bad things. You've killed people. Too many people." He growled slightly at this, as if angered by the remark.

"B-but you can change." I continued, stuttering slightly. "You don't have to live like this. Me and your mum, we… we can look after you." Xanthus hissed quietly, coming yet closer to me. I dropped my gun to the ground and stepped towards him, a hand outstretched to take his own. He grabbed it tightly, causing it to quickly become numb. I was both terrified that he might just turn around and kill me, and hopeful that he would see reason.

"You're not a bad person, Xanthus." I assured him, freeing my hand and reaching up to pat him on the shoulder. "You're just… scared. And alone." He nodded slowly, sighing deeply as he did so. I knew in that moment that there was hope for him yet. He really did have a human side. And we could nurture that human side, we could convince him to leave his murderous instincts behind. A sigh of relief washed over me at the very thought. For one glorious moment, there was hope. Sadly, it wasn't to last.

"If you're willing to change…" I told Xanthus sincerely, "Then we're willing to give you a second chance." He smiled, nodding his head eagerly.

"Speak for yourself." Called a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw that Davison was stood with his energy burst pistol aimed straight at Xanthus. Before I had any chance to object, he had already fired the weapon. A bolt of light shot across the corridor, slamming into Xanthus' shoulder.

"No!" I shouted, as he stumbled backwards. The impact of the bolt had clearly shocked him, but it didn't appear to have harmed him in any way. He gathered his bearings once again, but his mood had quickly changed. That innocent, hopeful expression on his face had been replaced by one of pure, unbridled anger. And lo, thanks to one unwarranted shot from one insufferable tit, all hope of changing Xanthus had gone.

"Xanthus?" I tried, reaching out a hand to try and calm him. He immediately pushed hard against my chest, sending me flying across the corridor. I smashed into a nearby wall, my head flinging itself backwards into the cold, hard metal. I fell to the ground in a heap as Xanthus began to run towards the rest of the group. Kelvin commanded the others to start running, before firing off a couple of shots from his own pistol. They did little apart from slow Xanthus down. As I achingly pulled myself back to my feet, I immediately grabbed my weapon from where I had dropped it on the floor earlier.

"Try and slow him down, Matthew!" I heard Kelvin yell as the group disappeared around a corner at the end of the corridor. As much as it pained me to do so, I quickly readied my weapon and fired at Xanthus. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked over his shoulder at me. Then, he started to run.

"Oh, great." I said sarcastically as he came barreling down the corridor towards me. "Absolutely fucking great!" I turned on my heels and began to sprint down the corridor away from Xanthus. Of course, he was still much faster than I was. It wasn't long before he was just yards behind me.

"You don't have to do this, Xanthus!" I shouted as I ran. "You can still change!" But as the words came tumbling from my mouth, even I knew that they were untrue. There was no hope for him now. He'd made his choice, and now he had to be stopped. Right now, though, I had to concentrate on not being killed. I kept running, my lungs operating at full capacity and sweat running down my face at an alarming rate. If I could at least regroup with the others we'd have a chance to come up with a plan of action. But where were they? This whole station was a maze of corridors, and right now I was running in completely the opposite direction. I might never see them again. If I could a least shake Xanthus for a few moments, I could turn around and head back. But losing a creature that could run faster than any animal in existence and was virtually indestructible was easier said than done.

As I rounded another corner, I glanced over my shoulder for a second and saw that Xanthus was now barely a foot behind me. He could simply reach out and grab me with little effort at this point. Thankfully, he hadn't figured this out yet, and so I continued to elude his grasp by a hair's length. But there was another problem. My legs were about to give out. I simply couldn't run any longer. There was only one thing for it. I collapsed to the ground, and Xanthus stumbled over me. I felt his feet digging into my back agonisingly as he carried on running. I got back to my feet and started to run in the opposite direction just as he realised I wasn't in front of him anymore. 'That ought to buy me a couple of seconds,' I thought to myself. Unfortunately, those extra seconds would almost immediately be lost by the fact that my fastest 'run' had now been reduced to a painful hobble. I realised in that moment that there was a very real chance I could die in the next five seconds.

Collapsing to the floor once again, I rolled onto my back and saw Xanthus standing over me ominously. He leaned down slowly, almost as if he was savoring the moment before he finished me off. There was only one thing for it. I wrenched my energy burst pistol from my pocket and shot it directly at Xanthus' face. He fell backwards, screeching deafeningly as he did so. I was pretty sure that he wasn't seriously injured by this, but it had at least brought me a lot more time. I scrambled to my feet once again, and dashed off down the corridor with newfound energy. It wasn't long before I was back in the corridor where we'd first encountered Xanthus. The others couldn't have gone too far from here. All I had to do now was find them. I rushed straight down the corridor to the other end, in the same direction that the rest of the group had gone. I rounded the same corner, and continued running. It wasn't long before I reached another intersection. Now what did I do? Which way did I go? I had to decide, and fast.

"Jones!" A voice called from the leftward branch of the intersection. I turned to see Kelvin standing at the far end of the corridor, gesturing to me to follow him. I rushed over, and was relieved to see that the rest of the search party were also with him.

"Oh, thank God." I sighed, seeing that the rest of the group was alive and well. "Any longer and I would have been dead."

"Well don't make such a song and dance about it." Davison said bluntly. "Otherwise we'll all be dead very soon." I looked at the man coldly, suddenly remembering what he'd done not ten minutes ago. He'd shot at Xanthus. He'd blown our chance at resolving this whole situation peacefully.

"We wouldn't even be in this mess if you hadn't shot at him without warning!" I snapped at Davison.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if _you_ hadn't brought it here in the first place!" He snapped back, glaring at me angrily.

"Don't you try and pin this on me, mate." I remarked, trying to remain as calm and quite as possible. "We could have sorted this whole thing out without any more bloodshed, but _nooooo_ , you'd prefer to shoot anything with a pulse, wouldn't you, you trigger-happy lunatic?"

"Enough!" Kelvin bellowed, bringing silence to the group. "What's done is done, alright? We'll just have to deal with the consequences." He looked at Davison in disapproval. Even he had to admit that firing at Xanthus just when I had managed to calm him was a foolish move. Davison, though, refused to acknowledge that he had made a mistake. As far as he was concerned, the situation was black and white. It was either Xanthus… or us.

"Now," Kelvin announced, much calmer now. "I'll admit, things are not looking good for us at the moment." There was a resounding murmur of agreement amongst the group. It was true that we were in a pretty tight spot right now.

"But…" He continued, holding up his index finger to illustrate his point, "At least we've lost the creature for the time being." However, no sooner than Kelvin had finished his sentence, something told us all otherwise. The sound of heavy footsteps came from down the corridor to our left. I looked around, but saw that the whole around us was completely shrouded in darkness. The sound came again, this time louder. We began to grow anxious, afraid of what might be lurking in the shadows. Had Xanthus found us once again? As the footsteps came within a few metres of where the group stood, it became apparent that he had. He was right on top of us, but we couldn't see him. All we could do now was wait for him to show his face…


	23. XXIII

**XXIII**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and I'm back again today with another chapter of Xanthus. I must admit, I've been pretty intrigued recently by the fan theories that I've seen floating around regarding the story's title character. Now, I love a good fan theory, and I'm not going to ruin anything for anyone by telling you right here and now whether you're right or not about Xanthus' true intentions. But what I will say is this: Keep in mind that, even when everything's all said and done, even when 'Xanthus' reaches the end of it's thirtieth chapter, there may always be more than meets the eye. Remember that, because things are never quite what they seem… Anyway, I fear I've said too much already, so, without further ado, I'll leave you all to read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

For several nail-biting moments, we simply stood silently in the corridor, listening to the shuffling of alien footsteps. In the dull light of the elongated hallway, it was impossible to tell how close Xanthus was to us right now. I saw Kelvin silently beckoning us towards him as he carefully stepped backwards into the shadows. Reluctantly, we all followed, but so did the footsteps. Soon, we came to an intersection between two corridors. On this deck, the doors around the intersection were made of thick metal, rather than the simple wooden double doors which were placed along the corridors near the hospital wards, presumably so the place didn't feel so cold and clinical for the patients. The benefit to this, though, was that if we made sure we were all on one side of the doorway, and that Xanthus was on the other, we could separate ourselves from him, hopefully for long enough to come up with a plan of action. Kelvin had clearly had the same idea, as he was already stood beside the door's control panel. All we had to do now was make sure that all five members of the search party were safely on _this_ side of the doorway before we shut it.

Because the lights down here were incredibly dull, probably owing to poor maintenance over a number of years of constant operation, it was quite… difficult for us to count heads. Obviously, Kelvin and I had already made it through the doorway. So had at least two other people, who I assumed to be Davison and the female security operative, whose figures I could just make out in the darkness. We were now waiting on just one man. I peered through the doorway anxiously, hoping that he had not already been dragged away by Xanthus. Eerily, the sound of footsteps from down the corridor had now ceased, so it was anyone's guess as to whether Xanthus had retreated or not. Finally, after several long moments, a shadow emerged from the shadows. It was the male security operative. He was a few metres away from the doorway, but he made his way towards us with silent caution. I wanted to sigh with relief, knowing that all of us were still in one piece. But before I had a chance to do so, I saw something which immediately silenced me.

All of a sudden, the dim bulb above the man in the corridor flickered. For less than a split-second, the entire entryway was illuminated in a bright light. The light immediately subsided, but it had been long enough for me to see what lurked in the shadows behind the man. Standing less than a foot away from him was a tall, dark figure. Xanthus. I tried to warn him, but found myself unable to speak. I couldn't tell if the others had noticed it, but I knew in that moment that it was already too late. As the light flickered again, I saw Xanthus' hands clasped around the man's head. He let out a blood-curdling scream, and the disturbing sound of bones cracking, of skin and muscle tearing, suddenly filled the air.

"Jesus!" Kelvin yelled as the light flickered again. I looked on and saw blood spurting from the stump of a neck which had once held the man's head.

"Morcombe!" Davison shouted, as he too realised what had happened. The light flickered one last time, revealing Xanthus to be holding the man's disembodied head high in the air. He screeched wildly, and charged towards us. It was at that moment that Kelvin flicked a switch on the door's control panel, and it slammed shut, separating what remained of the group from the killer Xenomorph.

"Well," Kelvin sighed as Xanthus desperately clawed at the door from the other side. "That could've gone better."

"Could've gone better?" I replied angrily. "Could have gone better?! A man has just _died_ Kelvin; this is no time for your sarcasm!"

"Well what would you prefer me to say, Matthew?" He remarked, annoyed. "'Oh well, he's dead, never mind, eh'?"

"I'd prefer you to treat the situation with a little bit more respect, if you don't mind." I told him through gritted teeth.

"Oh, in that case we'll just grab his body and go and hold a service for him, why don't we?" Kelvin continued sarcastically. It took a lot of integrity for me not to continue the argument at this point, but I had no choice. I couldn't let Kelvin get to me. If the group began to fall apart now, then we really _were_ all doomed. So I simply stared at him condescendingly for a few moments. It didn't help the situation, of course, but I felt a lot calmer after a good old fashioned stare of disapproval.

"Now," Kelvin continued after a few more moments, in his usual, delightfully reassuring, tone. "Yes, the situation has taken a rather drastic turn. And yes, we are now down to just four men." There was a slight cough from the direction of the female security operative.

" _Three_ men." Kelvin said, correcting himself. "Anyway, my point is that there are only four of us left. And that's not good."

"Oh, you don't think so?" I interjected, rolling my eyes as I spoke.

"No, Matthew. I don't think so." He replied bluntly. "As we've already seen, this thing is capable of killing more than _five_ people in a single sitting. With our numbers less than that, and only two of us fully trained with energy burst weaponry, the situation isn't exactly looking pretty."

"But what else can we do, sir?" Davison asked curiously. "Most of my other operatives are busy overseeing the starboard docking areas."

"Why only the starboard docking areas?" I said, thinking aloud.

"The starboard docking areas are where the passenger liners dock to the station." Davison explained. "The port side docks are for smaller craft such as your own, so they don't need as much security. Well, they _didn't_ , but if we get through this in one piece, we might need to revise that in future."

"We can worry about things like that later." Kelvin said sternly. "For now, let's concentrate on the 'getting through this in one piece' part, alright?" There was resounding agreement throughout the group at this. But what _did_ we do now? What was the next step in Kelvin's brilliant scheme? He was just about to tell us, or at least, I think he was just about to tell us, when the sound of radio static filled the air. I looked around, confused, but Kelvin had already lifted his backpack over his shoulders, and produced from it a walkie-talkie. Without hesitation, he began to fiddle with a dial on the side of the receiver, until a voice with a slight East Asian accent came over the line. Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi.

"Yosuke?" Kelvin called down the receiver, pressing the 'push to talk' button down firmly as he spoke. "Is that you?"

"Yes, sir, this is Yankee Hotel speaking, OVER." Yosuke replied through the crackling static. 'Yankee Hotel', I chuckled to myself. 'Sounds like the name of some awful, casually xenophobic twentieth century sitcom'.

"You don't have to use phonetics, Yosuke, we're on a private frequency." Kelvin remarked. "Anyway, why have you called?"

"I was wondering if I could speak to Matthew, actually, sir." Yosuke explained. "It's urgent. Well, sort of." Kelvin rolled his eyes, and handed me the receiver silently. As I familiarized myself with the device, he slung his backpack back over his shoulder, and started to lead the rest of the group off down the corridor. I walked at a brisk pace to catch up with them as Yosuke's voice came back over the line.

"What's going on, Yosuke?" I asked, then realised I hadn't pressed the 'push to talk' button. I pushed it down firmly, then repeated myself foolishly.

"It's Xena, sir." He explained, his voice distorted by the radio static. "She wants to talk to you."

"She's with you?" I said, puzzled. "I thought she'd been left in our living quarters?"

"She was, but I ordered that the security operatives allowed me to take her back to the ward." He explained. "I didn't want her to be alone at a time like this." I smiled at this, although of course, Yosuke couldn't see me through the radio. It was nice to know that he was looking after Xena in my absence.

"Thank you, Yosuke." I said sincerely. "But how did you know she wanted to talk to me?"

"Well, she kept picking up the walkie-talkie on my desk and trying to use it." He told me. "So I made an educated guess. Anyway, I'll put her on now." The radio fell silent for a few seconds, as Yosuke handed the receiver over to Xena, but then it crackled back to life.

"Xena?" I asked, rounding a corner as I closed in on the rest of the group. "Can you hear me?" I heard Xena hiss chirpily, which told me she had indeed heard me.

"Listen, Xena," I said, as calmly as I could muster. "Things aren't looking particularly great at the moment." She growled softly, her tone showing clear dismay.

"But don't worry!" I continued cheerily. "We've found Xanthus, at least." Xena growled inquisitively, a sense of… hope in her voice. Sadly, it was not to last.

"There's nothing we can do, Zee." I told her solemnly. "He can't be convinced. We have to go through with this." She whimpered forlornly. But as I said, there was nothing we could do. This could only end one way, and it involved a certain Xenomorph dying, preferably sooner rather than later.

"Look, I wish there was another way, Xena, you know I do." I sighed. "But… there isn't." She whimpered again. I knew that whatever I felt about Xanthus, Xena only felt more strongly. It was crushing me that I had to do this to him. I could only imagine how she felt about it.

"It'll all be over soon, Zee." I reassured her warmly. "Then we can put all of this behind us." Xena hissed in agreement, but I could tell that she was still upset. Before I could reply, however, I looked on and noticed that the rest of the group was gathered around a door at the end of the corridor.

"Look, Xena, I've got to go." I said apologetically. "I'll talk to you later." Xena growled quietly, as if saying goodbye in a somber, dismayed tone.

"I love you." I told her gently, smiling as I spoke. Xena simply sighed, so I could only assume that she was smiling back at me on the other end of the line. And then, a few moments later, the static stopped. She was gone. Which left me with no choice but to plow on with the rest of the search party.

When I reached the door at the end of the corridor, Davison was busy fiddling with the control panel on the wall beside it, whilst Kelvin was searching through his backpack once again. After a few moments, Davison had managed to open the door. It flung open hastily, revealing a huge, dark room with a high ceiling and a low floor. There was a metal gangway raised slightly above the floor, which extended out to the room's far wall. The ground around the gangway, though, was shrouded in darkness. Kelvin pushed his way past me into the room, having found a torch in his backpack (which could have been very useful earlier, I might add). He passed the torch to the female security operative who was still with the group. She cautiously shined the torch into the vast room, illuminating the ground around the gangway. The light of the torch was dim, at best, but it was bright enough for each one of us to see exactly what was in that room. And let me tell you right now, it wasn't good…


	24. XXIV

**XXIV**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's TheManFromMudos here, and we're here again today with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. Now, I'll warn you before we get into this one, that what you're about to read may… contradict commonly accepted _Alien_ lore, in more ways than one. I beg you, please bear with me for the time being. It will all make sense very soon. The other thing you might notice is that there's a _lot_ of dialogue in this chapter, but it was the only way that I could get everything across in such a short space of time. So, that being said, read on, enjoy, and please, try to keep an open mind. Trust me, it'll all make sense in the end. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

The torchlight illuminated the room just enough to reveal several round objects protruding from the ground. The objects were about three feet tall, a khaki-brown colour, and, by the looks of it, were rooted to the floor. I knew at once what they were. These were Xenomorph eggs. And as the torch was shone further across the room, it became apparent that there were, in fact, hundreds of them. The last, and indeed only, time I'd ever seen these things before was aboard the Blue Midget, a shuttlecraft of the much larger JMC XH-12. It was where I'd first encountered the Xenomorph species, and of course, how this whole situation had unfolded in the first place. There had only been two of them there, stuffed behind a couple of generators on the craft's upper mini-deck. But as I'd seen, only one of them was necessary to cause devastation to the Archimedes' six-man crew. There were potentially hundreds of them here, scattered amongst the room with no apparent order. We were really in trouble now.

"What the hell are they?" Davison asked, stepping forwards into the enormous room. He looked at the eggs curiously, but kept his distance all the same.

"They're eggs." I told him distantly. "Xenomorph eggs. And by the looks of it, a lot of them."

"But… that's not possible." Kelvin began, also making his way into the vast room. He gazed down at the eggs in astonishment, a perplexed look on his face.

"How do you mean?" I asked. To me, it seemed perfectly logical that the eggs belonged to Xanthus. Well, not quite perfectly logical, but it made sense.

"From what I know of Xenomorphs, not that it's a terrible lot, of course…" Kelvin explained. "I was given to understand that they are a eusocial species."

"Eusocial?" I pondered, surprised. "So there's a queen?" Kelvin simply nodded. Now things made less sense. A Xenomorph queen? Did that mean that all other Xenomorphs were just… drones? Scavengers, soldiers, like bees or ants? If that was the case, how was it possible that Xena managed to impregnate me with Xanthus in the first place? And did that mean Xanthus _was_ the new queen? All of this new information brought with it so many questions.

"It doesn't make sense." I told Kelvin, puzzled. "These are definitely Xenomorph eggs. The only explanation is that Xanthus put them here."

"But it can't be." Kelvin insisted. "Xenomorph eggs can _only_ be layed by a Xenomorph queen." He looked at me sternly, unwilling to deny this assertion.

"Only?" I replied, chucking slightly. "Let me tell you a little bit about 'only', Kelvin. Xenomorphs are born _only_ as a single specimen, which forces it's way out of a host's body after a short period of growth. Suitable hosts can _only_ be impregnated by a Facehugger from a Xenomorph egg. Xenomorphs _only_ exist to survive, to kill what stands in their way, with no second thought or emotional reasoning. Now, there's _three_ 'only's that we've just proved wrong."

"What are you saying, Jones?" Kelvin asked, looking at me oddly, clearly unconvinced by my argument.

"I'm saying…" I hesitated, wondering for a moment what I _was_ actually saying. "…that there are exceptions to every rule. And this is no different."

"No different?" He chuckled, shaking his head in disagreement. "So you're saying it's possible that a genderless Xenomorph drone could lay eggs, despite the fact that this is an ability exclusive to Xenomorph queens? That's like saying it's possible for a human male to give birth to live young, despite the fact that only human females are capable of doing such." I shook my head repeatedly, about to put Kelvin in his place on the subject.

"I've given birth to live young." I replied bluntly. "There you go, another 'only' that's actually a 'usually'." I wasn't wrong, was I? Although, I'll admit my argument was… strenuous, to say the least. Kelvin still seemed unconvinced. After all, the two scenarios weren't really comparable to one another, were they?

"I can't buy this, Jones." He told me sternly, an unimpressed expression on his face. "You're suggesting the impossible. I mean, do you really think that your son could be capable of producing this many eggs?" He looked out across the huge room once again, which was positively teeming with the unsettling cocoons.

"Perhaps not." I assured him, shrugging my shoulders. "But, to quote the great Doctor Ian Malcolm of 1993's 'Jurassic Park': Life finds a way…"

"So that's it?" He muttered. "You're relying on the logic of a 300-year old film about a magic park where dinosaurs are brought to life to support your argument?"

"You're relying on the logic of a 300-year old film about a mining colony who's entire population is wiped out by aliens to support your argument?" I quipped in reply.

"Excuse me, sirs?" Davison interrupted. "I feel like there's some kind of fourth wall here that we may be at risk of breaking."

"You're quite right, Davison." Kelvin agreed. "Very well, Jones, I suppose since we've no alternative explanation… we'll assume these eggs were put here by your son."

"Thank you." I nodded. "That's one mystery solved, at least. But there's a bigger question here…"

"How are there so many of them?" The female security operative asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Quite right, Penistone." Davison replied, peering down at the eggs from the safety of the metal gantry. "How could one Xenomorph make this many eggs?" Even I couldn't explain this one (although my definition of 'explain' was questionable, to say the least). There must have been at least two hundred eggs in this very room, yet there was only one Xanthus. Wasn't there? Let's see… nine dead, at last count, if memory serves. But their bodies had all been found. It didn't make any sense, unless…

"Wait a minute." I whispered, after a sudden realisation. "Kelvin, does this station have a funerary?"

"Of course it does." He replied confidently. "We lose a dozen patients a day, you know. Their bodies have to be kept somewhere until their families or next of kin can collect them."

"And how many bodies, roughly speaking, would you say are in the funerary at this moment in time?" I enquired, trying to piece everything together in my mind.

"About… two hundred." He told me. Suddenly, he furrowed his brow in confusion. "Hold on… you don't think…"

"Where is this funerary, Kelvin?" I pressed, desperate to get all of the facts straight before we closed the book on this one.

"It takes up half of Decks 3 and 4." He explained. "But they're right near the top of the station. Mind you, there is a vertical ventilation shaft that leads to… No."

"What is it, where does it lead?" I snapped. Kelvin didn't reply. Instead, he simply took the torch from Penistone's hand, and shined it towards the ceiling in the centre of the room. Slap bang in the middle, protruding a couple of feet from the ceiling itself, was a thick, wide pipe. That was the ventilation shaft. Now, everything was beginning to add up.

Kelvin was already on the case. He ragged the walkie-talkie straight out of my pocket and turned it on, causing static to crackle loudly through the vast chamber. He frantically adjusted the frequency on the side of the device, until the static began to subside. Eventually, he found the correct channel.

"Ericson, can you hear me?" He rushed, slamming his thumb against the 'push to talk' button. "Ericson, this is Chief Medical Officer Kelvin. Can you hear me?"

"Kelvin, this is Marshall Ericson." A voice replied, broken up slightly by the poor signal. "What's going on down there?"

"No time to explain." Kelvin explained. "Marshall, I need you to put me through to funerary security."

"Roger." Ericson replied. "Patching you through now…" After this, there was a long period of radio silence. We could only hope that somebody in the funerary would eventually reply.

"No reply from funerary security, Kelvin." Ericson finally announced. "There should be fourteen men posted up there. What's going on?"

"Excuse me, Kelvin…" I muttered, slowly pulling the receiver from the man's hands. "I'll take it from here, if you don't mind." Kelvin looked at me with distaste, but I wasn't going to explain everything to him, for him to then explain everything to Ericson. Might as well cut out the middle man, hadn't we?

"Marshall Ericson, this is Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones." I said hurriedly. "I'm-"

"Yes, I know who you are, Jones." He replied bluntly. "You're the guy who brought the creature here in the first place, aren't you?"

"Well… yes." I muttered. "But that's not important right now. What's important is that you understand that we're in _big_ trouble right now."

"What do you mean?" He enquired, the confusion in his voice evident even through the static of the radio.

"Listen carefully." I told him. "We've discovered a nest of Xenomorph eggs. There's too many here to be made by one drone, and there's no evidence of a queen being present. I believe… I believe that every single operative in that funerary has been killed. And not for food, either…"

"What makes you think that, Jones?" Ericson asked. "I-" But before he could finish his sentence, I dropped the radio to the ground. A low rattling sound was coming from the ventilation shaft above. It was like something was scurrying along the pipe. I don't think you need to be told what…

"Everybody, back away slowly." I whispered, making my own way out of the room as carefully as I could.

"What are you talking about, Jones?" Ericson said loudly. I tried to silence him, but it was too late. Suddenly, a head emerged from the ventilation shaft.

"That." I whimpered, pointing towards the ceiling. As I did so, another head emerged from the shaft. Then another. And another.

"Oh fuck…" Kelvin murmured, slowly backing away as he saw the group of Xenomorphs above.

"What should we do?" Penistone whispered, also siding with the retreating group.

"What do you think?" Kelvin snapped, suddenly starting to pick up speed as he turned on his heels and walked briskly towards the door. "Leg it!"


	25. XXV

**XXV**

Nobody needed to be told twice at this point. Davison immediately burst through the door, hot on Kelvin's heels, as did Penistone. I was the last one out of the room, but there was no time to close the door behind me. The Xenomorphs were already in hot pursuit. As if one of them hadn't been bad enough, we were now being chased down by an entire pack. I soon caught up with Penistone, who was still a short way behind Davison. Kelvin was still way ahead, though. I'd never seen anyone run so fast. He could've tried out for the Ganymede 2320 Summer Olympics with a run like his. Then again, you tend to find you have a lot more adrenaline when you're running from something.

"Where are we going, Kelvin?" I yelled from far behind the streak of ginger-haired lightning in front as he bolted round a corner.

"Wherever they aren't!" He replied between laboured breaths. "We need to get as far away from them as possible. Then we can come up with a plan!"

Peering over my shoulder gingerly, I now saw that two of the Xenomorphs were gaining on us. Not only that, but the two at the back had now been joined by a fifth. So now we were outnumbered. 'Splendid,' I thought to myself, looking forwards once again. 'Splen-fucking-did.' I was now fast approaching the same corner that Kelvin and Davison had just disappeared around. Penistone dashed around the bend just two seconds before myself, and now the four of us were running along another long, straight corridor. Thankfully, this one had several open doors along each side. All we had to do was pick a door, jump through it, and shut it behind us as quickly as possible. Kelvin was already on the case. Without warning, he suddenly lurched to the left, diving through one of the open doors. Davison quickly followed, leaving just Penistone and I to catch up. Finally, we jumped through the doorway in unison, both of us collapsing to the floor on top of one another. Kelvin immediately slammed the control panel on the wall, and the door closed with a thud.

Penistone and I struggled frantically on the floor as we pushed ourselves away from one another. As I gathered my bearings, I got to my feet, and held out a hand to help her up.

"Alright?" I asked as she took my hand. I leaned backwards slightly, pulling her up onto her feet.

"Mmm-hmm." She mumbled, nodding awkwardly. "Thanks." I smiled reassuringly in response. But suddenly, the sound of five Xenomorphs barreling down against the door outside echoed through the room. They refused to relent, constantly forcing themselves against the door. But it wouldn't budge. For now, we were safe. Ish. I looked around the room to make sure that everyone was still here. There was me, Davison, Penistone, and… Kelvin? Where was he? I squinted in the darkness of the room, trying to find him hiding in the shadows, but saw nobody.

"Kelvin?" I called out quietly, wandering slowly across the room as I did so.

"Over here." He replied. I looked over into the far corner of the room, and saw Kelvin standing beside another door. I gestured to the others to come over, and the three of us went to join Kelvin, who was fiddling around in his backpack yet again.

"This door leads into another corridor." He explained, tapping the side of the door gently with his knuckle. "It's not directly connected to any of the other corridors on this deck, so we should be able to make our way back upstairs through here."

"And then what?" I asked. "What are we supposed to about-" I was interrupted once again by the Xenomorphs banging loudly against the far door.

"That?" I finished. "There could be more than a dozen of them down here, and there are enough eggs to make hundreds more."

"You're quite right, Jones." Kelvin sighed. "There's only one thing for it…"

"Hold on, sir." Davison said worriedly, a concerned expression on his face. "You don't mean…"

"The Constantinople's not safe anymore, Davison." Kelvin replied solemnly. "We could've dealt with one of these things, perhaps. But fifteen of them? And then there's the eggs. Far too many of them to be destroyed one by one."

"Wait a minute…" I began, suddenly realising Kelvin's intentions. "You're not suggesting that we destroy the station?"

"It's the only way, Matthew." He said sternly. "You'd need a security team five times what we've got here to stand any chance against these things." His point was only illustrated by the repeated sound of the Xenomorphs outside constantly charging at the thick, metal door. But there were thousands of people aboard the Constantinople, most of whom were bed-ridden. How could they possibly evacuate everyone in time?

A few moments later, Kelvin had managed to find a spare walkie-talkie in his backpack. The first one was still on the floor back at the Xenomorph nest, courtesy of yours truly. Thankfully, Kelvin's reserve receiver was ready to run (sorry, that sentence was far more alliterative than it needed to be). He flicked a switch on the side of the device and it whirred to life with the all-too familiar sound of radio static.

"Ericson?" He called out, his tone both hushed but urgent at the same time. "Ericson, this is Kelvin. Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you, Kelvin." Ericson replied loudly. "For a moment, I thought something terrible had happened."

"Oh, it has, believe me." Kelvin replied bluntly. "Listen, Ericson, their numbers are overwhelming. We have to call an evacuation order _now_."

"Are you out of your mind, Andrew?" He gasped, clearly as astonished as I was at the very premise of such a large-scale evacuation.

"Not at all, _James_." Kelvin replied coldly. Clearly, he didn't appreciate people calling him by his first name. "The way I see it, there are two options here: Either we evacuate the station now, and risk losing half of our staff and patients, or we stay here like sitting ducks, and risk losing _all_ of them." There was a long pause from Ericson at this. I had to admit, Kelvin was right. Yes, it was a huge risk to undertake a mass evacuation of the station, but it was nowhere near the risk posed to us all if we stayed. Whichever option posed the least overall risk was the one we had to take.

"Alright." Ericson finally replied. "I'll give the order. And I suppose you want me to disconnect the Byzantium, as well?"

"Yes." Kelvin whispered hesitantly. I didn't even know what the Byzantium was, but it sounded quite ominous.

"I'm on it." Ericson assured us. "Initiating separation sequence now." And with that, the radio fell silent. A few seconds later, the silence in the room was broken by the sound of a siren piercing through the still air. It rang through the room deafeningly, and was accompanied by a series of flashing lights, which seemed to have appeared from nowhere on the ceiling and walls.

"May I have your attention, please?" A voice suddenly boomed through a speaker in the centre of the room. It was Colonial Marshall Ericson.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Constantinople must be evacuated." He continued. "Please make your way to the nearest docking area, where ships will be ready and waiting to escort passengers to an assembly point on 954-ABD."

"Where's 954-ABD?" I asked, shouting over the sound of sirens blaring through the room.

"It's a dwarf planet nearby." Kelvin explained. "There's a temporary base there for just such instances as this."

"And what's the Byzantium?" I continued. Fair enough, we probably had to get moving as quickly as possible, but I needed answers first.

"It's the Constantinople's battery ship." He sighed. "And it's going to disconnect itself from the station in about three quarters of an hour. Now can we please get moving?" He pressed a button on the control panel beside the door, and it flung open. Light poured in from the brightly lit corridor outside, and without hesitation, the four of us darted through the doorway and ran.

As we hurried along, I continued to process the events that had just unfolded in my head. So the Constantinople had a battery ship? That was an outdated system if I'd ever seen one, especially for a company as technologically advanced as the Montreal Technical Association. I should probably explain at this point what a battery ship actually is. Back in the late twenty-second century, most large space stations couldn't generate their own electricity. So they used ships which were essentially giant batteries. Typically, the ships had two or three decks, which were entirely filled with engines and generators. They could connect to a station and provide it with power. Obviously, the idea never really caught on, and by the early twenty-third century, most companies were building self-powered space stations. The point was, once the Byzantium had separated itself from the Constantinople, power to the station would be lost. And after that, it was only a matter of time before the station's 'self-defence' mechanism kicked in. In other words, the Constantinople would blow itself up. Hence, we were currently running for our lives. No change there, then.

A few moments later, we reached a stairwell. We dashed to the top of the stairs and found a junction.

"Which way do we go?" I asked, looking down each corridor in confusion. They both looked exactly the same.

"The starboard docks are that way." Davison told us, pointing down the rightward branch. "We can get on a passenger liner. They'll be the first ships to leave the station."

"Let's go." Kelvin agreed, following Davison as he began to head down the corridor. I simply stood there, awestruck by this pitiful display of selfishness.

"So that's it?" I called after them. "Save yourselves, never mind anyone else?" The two men both stopped and turned to face me reluctantly.

"Matthew, there isn't time!" Kelvin shouted. "There are enough doctors and attendants on the station to get everyone out without _our_ help!"

"Not if they've all had the same idea as you!" I snapped at him. "There are pensioners and children on this station, Kelvin! And you're just going to leave? And what about Xena?"

"Somebody else will help her, Matthew!" Kelvin replied. "You'll be able to regroup with her on 954-ABD!" But I couldn't accept that. Xena wasn't even human, the dock staff wouldn't just let her onto a passenger liner, no questions asked. I had to find her, and help her escape the station.

"I'm going back for her." I said adamantly. "I can't let her die. If she does… then there's no point in me escaping, anyway."

"Then you're a bigger fool than I thought!" He shouted back. "Come on, Davison. Let's get moving."

"I'll be with you in a minute, sir." Davison told Kelvin. But Kelvin had already disappeared around a corner at the end of the corridor.

"Listen, Matthew…" Davison continued, coming back over to me slowly. "I know we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. The truth is, when I first saw that… your partner, I thought it… she, I mean, was… unnatural. Abnormal. But if you're willing to risk your life to save her… then I can see you truly do love each other." He smiled apologetically as he spoke.

"Thank you." I told him sincerely. "We do."

Stepping closer still, Davison continued to speak.

"I won't leave the station with Kelvin." He explained. "I'm going to stay behind with the dock staff and help all of the patients board first."

"That's very noble of you, Davison." I assured him. "Good luck."

"You too, sir." He smiled, reaching out a hand to shake my own. I took it gladly, and shook his hand with confidence. I felt oddly… proud of him. Davison was yet further proof that anyone could change. Well, almost anyone.

"Goodbye, Matthew." He said quietly. "You to, Penistone." And with that, he took off down the corridor after Kelvin. Then there were two.

"And what about you, Penistone?" I asked, turning to the female security operative behind me. "Are you leaving?"

"Oh, I don't think so, sir." She replied warmly. "Your girlfriend needs us."

"Don't call her my girlfriend." I said, blushing awkwardly. "'Partner' works just fine."

"She still needs us." Penistone continued, grinning slightly. "You know, sir, when I was first transferred to the Constantinople, I was given a duty of care over every one of it's residents. I see no reason why things should change today." She smiled reassuringly. I was grateful for Penistone's help. As we'd just seen, not a lot of people were willing to risk their lives for someone they barely even knew.

"Well, then." I shrugged, slowly making my way over to the left branch of the corridor. "Let's go!" Penistone immediately sprang into action, and the two of us ran off down the corridor together. All that mattered right now was finding Xena.


	26. XXVI

**XXVI**

The sirens continued to blare as Penistone and I hurtled along the corridors of the Constantinople at great speed. It didn't take long for us to find a stairwell up to the next floor, and the next, and the next, until there couldn't have been more than a dozen floors left between us and Xena. As we made our way further and further up the ship, more and more people filled the corridors, all of them desperately pushing past one another to get to the docks on the lower decks. It seemed that Penistone and I were the only ones traveling _up_ the ship rather than _down_ it. Eventually, though, the masses of people began to subside, as the passenger liners below slowly filled up with evacuees. Now, the corridors were empty once again.

"Which ward is your partner in?" Penistone called out between breaths, shouting over the sound of sirens which still blasted through the corridors.

"Oh, it's… 2-74." I said hesitantly, thinking back to the number on the door plaque. "But she could still be at our living quarters."

"And where's that?" She asked impatiently. Again, I had to think hard about what number the room was.

"S2-Q-169." I eventually announced. "Do you know where that is?"

"Not exactly." She told me, not particularly reassuringly. "Sector 2, that's Decks 12 to 24. The 169 means we can narrow it down to Deck 15."

"If you say so." I shrugged. I had no choice but to trust Penistone's judgment. She knew the ship better than I did, after all.

"So what does the 'Q' mean?" I asked curiously. No, it didn't really matter, but I like to get all my facts straight. You really should know that by now.

"That just means 'Quarters'." She explained. "I would've thought that was fairly obvious, to be honest."

"It's been a long day, alright." I chuckled, shrugging off Penistone's light-hearted mockery. "It's been a long day…"

About ten minutes or so later, we had found a stairwell which took us all the way up to Deck 15. I'm going to be honest with you, there _was_ a huge plaque over the doors at the top which said 'Deck 15', but somehow I hadn't noticed them the last time I'd come up these stairs. Anyway, that wasn't important right now. At least, Penistone didn't seem to think so, because she soon pulled me through the double doors impatiently after I'd stared at the plaque for several seconds. Now, we were aimlessly wandering the corridors of Deck 15, searching in vain for room S2-Q-169. Door after door after door we passed, hastily reading every single plaque. 552. 389. 287. And then, finally, 185.

"This is it!" I announced hurriedly, beckoning Penistone over to me. "This is the corridor."

"Are you sure?" She called, hurrying over to me, but I was already counting down the doors. 180. 175. 170.

"One hundred and sixty-nine!" I shouted gleefully, my eyes falling on the panel in question. At last, we'd found it. Without any further hesitation, I pushed the door open, and peered inside hopefully. Alas, I was disappointed by what I saw. The room was empty.

"Damn!" Penistone exclaimed as she reached the room and glanced in. "Hard luck, Matthew."

"She must be upstairs." I said distantly, gazing down at the floor. "She has to be…"

"Time's ticking, sir." Penistone continued, ever the optimist. "If you want to get her out of here, then we've got to get moving now."

"Just a second." I assured her, stepping into the room quickly. "Let me get my things." I rummaged around the drawers and wardrobe frantically, but soon realised that my 'things' consisted of the clothes I was standing in right now, and one 'Hyper Light-Speed Travel: A Brief Explanation' by Gareth Arnold Yankovic Oldman. As I stuffed the tattered paper into my pocket, I couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that Professor Oldman's signature read 'G.A.Y Oldman.' I felt guilty about it later (he was dead, after all), but at the time, it lightened the mood a little.

"Well, that's everything." I announced, stepping back out into the corridor glumly. "All my possessions. One officer's uniform and a gay old man's thesis on hyper light-speed travel." It was a sorry collection of personal belongings, to say the least. But at least the uniform was comfortable, eh?

"Then let's get moving, shall we?" Penistone remarked, already making her way down the corridor at a brisk pace. I jogged to catch up with her as she rounded a corner on the right. Soon, we had located a pair of double doors which led out into a stairwell. However, as we struggled with the heavy doors, we immediately realised that they were locked. There was a large window on the door, possibly large enough for us to fit through, but no matter how hard we hit the glass, it wouldn't break. It was simply too thick. Damn ultra-protective quintuple glazing.

"What should we do?" I asked, still trying to smash through the two-inch thick window.

"We'll have to find another stairwell." Penistone replied. "And hope to God that _it's_ not locked." I agreed, and we were just about to turn around and leave, when I noticed the shadow of a person against the wall on the lower branch of the stairwell.

"Hold on, Penistone." I called, seeing that she had already begun to walk away. "Someone's coming up the stairs. They must have… heard us." I hesitated midway through my sentence as I realised that something was afoot. There was something odd about the shadow. It was almost… inhuman.

"Oh, no." I continued hesitantly, as the shadow suddenly grew larger. An excruciating noise filled the air as a Xenomorph bundled around the corner at the foot of the stairs. I tried to back away from the window slowly, but it was too late. It had already locked eyes on me. Figuratively, I mean.

"We need to move." I mumbled, making my way over to Penistone quietly.

"What is it?" She asked, looking over my shoulder at the door behind. As soon as she saw what was stood at the window, though, her face fell.

"Maybe it won't be able to break through the glass…" I whispered hopefully, turning to look at the creature again. As soon as I had finished my sentence, the Xenomorph had silently pressed it's face up against the glass. It drummed it's fingers against the glass gently, as if examining the obstacle. Then, it stepped backwards, opening it's enormous jaws with a screech. It charged towards the door, and when it's face was less than an inch away from the glass, it's inner jaws shot out. They pushed through the window effortlessly, shards of glass flying everywhere.

"You were saying?" Penistone remarked sarcastically. I hadn't yet taken my eyes off of the door, which was now hissing loudly as it's magnetic lock began to falter. The seal must have broken when the Xenomorph punched through the glass. Now it was only a matter of time before the door simply opened itself. I looked over at Penistone, who had already sprung into action. She flew back around the corner and into the corridor, and I quickly followed. I heard the Xenomorph screech from behind us again, along with the sound of a loud click as the door mechanism finally failed. Just seconds later, the creature was on our tail. We bolted along at breakneck speed, but the Xenomorph was faster. If we could only find a corridor which looped back around, we could go through the open door and up the stairs to Xena's ward.

"This way!" Penistone shouted, darting around a nearby corner. I obeyed, as did the Xenomorph behind us. It seemed there was no way we could shake it now. But then, I spotted a glimmer of hope. In the corridor ahead was another doorway. If we could get through it, we could shut it behind us, buying us precious time. It was our only hope at this moment in time.

"Get the door!" I shouted to Penistone as I crossed the threshold of the doorway. She immediately dashed through behind me, slamming her hand against a button on the control panel. The door fell to the ground, the Xenomorph immediately smashing against it with a loud thud.

"Fire Door 12-27 has been shut." An electronic voice suddenly bellowed across a speaker on the ceiling. "To prevent the further spread of fire, all other fire doors on this corridor will now be shut." I looked at Penistone, who rolled her eyes in annoyance. What sort of idiot thought _that_ was a good idea? Whoever it was, I hope they were smiling now, because if we didn't get off of this corridor before those other doors shut, we were fucked.

"Come on!" Penistone shouted, pulling me down the corridor towards the next set of doors. We may have lost the Xenomorph, but now we were facing an even bigger threat: being trapped aboard the station when it exploded in… about forty-five minutes. The two of us wasted no time, hurtling down the corridor at great speed. We had barely passed through the next doorway when the heavy door slammed itself shut behind us. We didn't stop. We didn't even look back. We simply kept moving, and soon ran through the next doorway, which also closed itself abruptly as we passed.

"Not far now!" Penistone shouted between laboured breaths. "That doorway ahead's the last one!" My legs were beginning to ache, but I pressed on. We _had_ to get through that door before it closed. If we didn't… well, it didn't bear thinking about. We quickly approached the doorway, until it was little more than a few metres in front of us. And then, the worst happened. Without warning, Penistone tripped, collapsing to the floor in a heap. I glanced back over my shoulder as I stumbled backwards through the doorway, and saw that she had already begun scrambling back to her feet. But the door's locking mechanism had already been engaged. No sooner than she had managed to stand up and gather her bearings, the enormous sheet of thick metal began to slide downwards. I caught one final glance of Penistone's face, contorted with fear at the realisation of what was about to happen. Then, the door reached the ground, a deafening thud erupting through the corridor as it did so. There was nothing I could do to help her now.


	27. XXVII

**XXVII**

"Penistone!" I called out, immediately running back over to the door. "Can you hear me?" I slammed my hand against the cold metal repeatedly, desperately trying to break through, although of course the very idea was unthinkable. These doors were blast-proofed against small nuclear explosions, for God's sake! What chance did I have of getting through with my bare hands?

"Matthew?" Penistone finally replied, her voice muffled by the thick metal. "I can hear you." Her hopeful voice was filled with masked distress.

"Don't worry, Penistone." I called through the door. "I'll get you out of there!" I rushed over to the doors' control panel on the adjacent wall.

"It's no use, Matthew." She explained. "These doors can't be overridden in an emergency situation." I shrugged her words away, fighting with the control panel desperately. There _had_ to be a way to get the door open. I continued to push buttons wildly, but to no avail.

"Matthew, just leave me!" Penistone pleaded. "You're only wasting time standing around here."

"I can't!" I shouted angrily, although there was upset in my voice. "I can't just leave you to sit here and wait for the station to come crashing down!"

"Oh, I'll be long gone before that happens." She assured me, choking up as she spoke. "Don't you worry about that."

"What do you mean 'long gone'?" I asked foolishly. As if I didn't already know the answer to that question.

"De-pressurising Sections 12-27 to 12-30." A voice suddenly called across the corridor's speakers. Soon after, a loud hissing filled the air. My face fell as I realised my suspicions were correct. Penistone was going to be suffocated. She could be dead within the next two minutes.

"You're going to die…" I whispered sorrowfully. "Penistone, you're going to suffocate."

"I know." She replied distantly. "Fire doors are designed to stop fires. Fires need oxygen. Quickest way to stop a fire?"

"Remove all the oxygen." I muttered. A sure-fire way to prevent the spread of fire. A sure-fire way to kill somebody.

"Find your girlfriend." Penistone told me sincerely. "Save her. I'm sure the two of you can make a new life together. Somewhere."

"Penistone, I can't just leave you." I said solemnly. "There must be something I can do. I-I'll find an emergency override, I'll-"

"You'll get out of here while you still can." She interrupted. "I've told you, Matthew. It's too late for me. Just go."

"Not yet." I assured her, leaning against the thick, metal door and slumping to the ground. "I might not be able to save you, but I can still be here with you until... until it's over."

"Thank you, Matthew." She replied graciously. "I appreciate that." And that was that. For the next minute and a half, I sat with Penistone, an impenetrable barrier between us, and comforted her in her final moments. It was the least I could do, after what she'd done for me.

"You know, Matthew…" She murmured, her voice slightly strained by the lack of oxygen in the room. "I joined the Montreal Technical Association almost twelve years ago. When I first got the job, I worked for eight months in a dingy little installment on Miranda. I'd lived there all my life, and as a young girl, I never wanted to leave. But when I got an offer to transfer to Eurynome, I… I jumped at the chance."

"I know how you feel." I told her reassuringly. "When I was little, I never wanted to leave England, let alone the Earth. Yet here I am."

"As am I." She chuckled, although this soon became a hacking cough. "I've been to a lot of places, Matthew. Not quite as many as I would've liked to. But I'm satisfied with the life I've led. And I'm certainly glad I didn't spend it all on Miranda."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked jokingly. "If you'd stayed on Miranda, it wouldn't have ended like this, would it? Penistone?" Several seconds passed, with no reply. Was this the end? Had she passed out from the lack of oxygen, lying unconsciously on the brink of death?

"I wouldn't have changed it for anything." She finally sighed, through extremely laboured breaths.

"One last thing, Penistone." I said quietly. "You never told me your first name."

"It's..." She struggled, heaving for breath at this point. "It's Elizabeth."  
"Elizabeth, eh? Lovely name." I whispered. I could here Penistone desperately gasping for breath on the other side of the door now.

"Well…" I murmured, getting to my feet glumly. "Goodbye, Elizabeth."

"Goodbye… Matthew." She replied croakily. A couple of seconds later, I heard her collapse to the floor. And that was it. The end of the life of Security Operative Elizabeth Penistone. There was nothing I could have done. But still, I felt responsible for her death.

It was several more seconds before I finally turned to leave the corridor. It felt wrong to just leave her like this. But I truly had no choice. Not if I wanted any chance of saving Xena. It couldn't be more than twenty minutes now before the Byzantium disconnected itself from the Constantinople. And so, with a heavy heart, I eventually decided to leave. I dashed away down the corridor, and soon found a route which looped back around to the stairwell with the broken window. Without hesitation, I pulled open the now inactive door, and made my way up the stairway to the next floor. The corridors were completely barren up here, with the doors to most of the wards left wide open. I knew that Xena's ward wasn't far from the stairwell, as I'd remembered how short the journey from there to my living quarters had been before. The only problem now was finding the correct room. Finally, a few minutes later, I found a ward at the very end of a corridor, whose door was firmly shut, in contrast with the others around it. I read the plaque on the door carefully before I entered. It bore the numbers '2-74'. This was it.

"Xena?" I called softly, pushing the door open and stepping into the room. My eyes immediately fell upon the medpod, in which a large, black figure was curled up. I approached slowly, and saw that it was Xena. She lay silently in the medpod, her head buried in her arms.

"Xena?" I repeated, gently shaking her as I spoke. Slowly, she sat up, 'looking' around the room nervously. As soon as she saw that it was me, she jumped out of the medpod energetically. Throwing her arms across my back, she pulled me in tightly.

"Oh, Xena, I was so worried about you!" I chuckled, welcoming her embrace gladly. "Have you been here on your own all this time?" Xena nodded forlornly, a sad expression on her face. She must have been so scared, so terrified, being left up here alone whilst everybody else had fled.

"What about Yosuke?" I asked, stepping back and looking around the room for Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi. Surely _he_ wouldn't have left Xena, would he? She simply shrugged her shoulders. Now I was worried that something had happened to _him_. But there was no time for that now.

"Listen Xena, there's no time to explain." I continued hurriedly. "We need to get off the station before it blows up." Xena looked at me in confusion.

"Look, we found a nest." I told her quietly. "Xanthus, he… he used dead bodies from the funerary as a food source. He layed a few eggs and all the security operatives up there got killed. Now there are more than a dozen Xenomorphs on the station." Xena's face fell at the realisation of what was happening. Xanthus was going to be killed. Her child, her only son. My only son. But we didn't exactly have some golden alternative, did we?

"There's nothing else we can do, Zee." I assured her, squeezing her hand gently as I spoke. "He won't change. He _can't_ change. But that's not his fault. And it's not yours, either." For several more moments, Xena seemed reluctant, but eventually, she nodded her head glumly. She knew as well as I did that our only option was to leave Xanthus behind.

"Now, we need to get downstairs to the Syracusia." I explained, already making my way over to the door. "There's a rendezvous point on the next planet, but we're not going to it." Xena glanced at me with a perplexed expression on her face, almost as if she was saying 'Why not?'

"Because we don't need to." I explained. "The only reason anyone else is going there is because they need to make sure that all the patients made it out alright, and we're not on the station's records. Besides, it'll be a lot easier for us if we just slip away under the radar." After this explanation, Xena seemed to agree. Why waste time attending a head count when our heads weren't even going to be counted?

"Okay, now that that's out of the way, can we please get moving?" I asked, pressing a button on the door and stepping back as it slid open. "It won't be long before-" But before I could finish my sentence, a deafening sound filled the air.

The sound was that of groaning metal. From somewhere far above us, something was moving. The creaking resounded through the corridors for several seconds, and was accompanied by the banging of pipes. Suddenly, the entire room shook violently, for less than a second before it stopped again. I could only assume that this tremor had affected the whole station. The groaning continued, this time accompanied by several loud pings, like tension cables snapping. The lights dimmed for a few moments, before returning to normal. I looked at Xena, who appeared as confused as I was. And that was when I realised. The Byzantium had just separated itself from the Constantinople.

"We need to go." I announced, grabbing Xena by the wrist. The two of us dashed out into the corridor, and began to run towards the nearest stairwell. We now had less than half an hour before the stations' backup power generators failed. We now had less than half an hour before the station blew up.


	28. XXVIII

**XXVIII**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back again with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. As you may have gathered from the last chapter, things are really starting to heat up now, and there are only three chapters, including this one, left of this story. I have to say, it's been a hell of a journey over these last three months, and whilst _Xanthus_ can never quite live up to _Xena_ , it's still been an amazing story to write. But it's not over yet! So what will happen now, in the Constantinople's dying hour? If you want to find out, then please, read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

The next few minutes were perhaps the most nail-biting I'd ever experienced. Because the Byzantium had now disconnected itself from the Constantinople, the station's systems had all been thrown into disarray. The flashing warning lights had now stopped, as had the emergency siren which had been ringing constantly for the last three quarters of an hour. But whilst many systems were beginning to falter, others were just springing into action. Machinery whirred inside the walls as the entire station began struggling to support itself. The lights pulsed brightly, before dimming just as fast. Some doors swung themselves open, whilst others locked themselves tightly. Sprinklers had been set off damn near everywhere, but because the station's water flow systems had been disturbed, some let out nothing more than a trickle of ice cold water. All of this led to a very… uncomfortable journey towards the docking area. And as if all of this wasn't bad enough, Xena ran much faster, and for much longer, than I could ever hope to, so we had to keep stopping whilst I caught my breath. Eventually, though, we finally reached the correct floor.

"Hold on, Zee!" I called out, seeing that Xena had already reached a branch in the corridor ahead. I pushed forwards, desperate to keep up with her. As I did, I leaned forwards, hands on my knees, panting for breath. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I looked around carefully.

"That way." I said between breaths. Before I even had a chance to gather my bearings, Xena was already off again. She darted down the corridor at great speed, disappearing around another corner with haste. Once again, I struggled to catch up, my legs already aching from all the running I'd done today. I certainly wasn't cut out for long-distance running. Probably why I was never any good at PE, either.

"In there, Xena!" I shouted, gasping for breath as I pointed to a doorway straight ahead of her. That was the doorway that led into Light Craft Docking Area Kepler-10. That was where the Syracusia stood, awaiting our arrival. Xena didn't waste any time. By the time I'd reached the doorway, she'd already passed through it into the room behind. I quickly followed her, slamming the door shut behind me as I went.

"Right." I announced, looking around the enormous room. "Let's get on board. Quickly." I pointed over to the bay in which the Syracusia was parked, but then a shocking realisation hit me. The bay was empty. In fact, every bay in the docking area was empty.

"Where is it?" I thought aloud, looking around desperately as if I'd suddenly find it hidden behind a cabinet. "It's… gone. Is this the right place?" I rushed over to the door, flinging it open so that I could read the plaque on the front. 'Light Craft Docking Area Kepler-10'. And that meant…

"Some bastard's taken it!" I shouted angrily. "Someone's took the Syracusia and scarpered." I looked at Xena with an annoyed expression on my face. She simply shrugged her shoulders. I shouldn't have said that, I know. I realised that whoever took it was in just as much a hurry to escape as I was. It might have been a woman with three children, or a man with his bed-ridden wife. But still… my ship!

Xena glanced at me blankly, shrugging her shoulders again as if to say 'Now what are we going to do?'

"Don't ask me." I remarked. "By the looks of it, _all_ the shuttlecraft have already been taken." Xena started to look worried at this point. I wasn't exactly confident, either, truth be told. We were running out of options, and fast. There was only one thing for it.

"We'll have to get on a passenger liner." I said glumly. I could tell by the look on Xena's face that she already had her doubts, as did I. But what choice did we have? The station was fast approaching denotation, and if we weren't out of here in the next… twenty minutes, we'd be going down with it. We had to at least try. But the passenger liners were all on the starboard docks. We'd have to cross the entire station, and fast.

"Come on, Xena!" I shouted, already heading out into the corridor. She quickly caught up, and rushed out ahead of me hastily. This time, though, I found myself spurred on by a rush of adrenaline, and so I made sure that I didn't lose _too_ much ground on her.

It took a little more than five minutes to reach the closest of the station's starboard docks. Thanks to the fact that all of the Constantinople's docks were on the same deck, we didn't have to waste time going up and down stairwells. In fact, all the docks were on an almost continuous, circular corridor around the station. I stopped Xena as soon as we reached a door marked 'Passenger Docking Area Gemini-12'. We burst in to the room as quickly as we could, and were relieved to see that there were still no less than four passenger liners waiting to depart the station. Unlike smaller shuttlecraft, these ships could not land _in_ the station, and instead were docked externally, each one connected to the Constantinople by a single airlock.

"This way." I told Xena calmly, walking in the direction of one of the ships. The airlock was wide open, and a security operative stood in the doorway, waiting to mark people off on a register as they boarded. This was not going to be easy. Luckily, the area was still pretty busy, and because everything was so frantic right now, nobody seemed to notice the eight-foot tall Xenomorph in their midst.

"Just leave the talking to me, alright?" I muttered. Xena simply frowned at me, clearly unappreciative of the joke.

Approaching the ship cautiously, I decided that the best course of action was to simply walk through the doorway nonchalantly. At first, it appeared to have worked, as the operative barely batted an eyelid as I wandered onto the ship. As soon as Xena set foot in the airlock, though…

"Oi!" The security operative called, prompting both Xena and I to stop dead in our tracks. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Well…" I began cockily, turning around and slowly walking over to the man. "I'd say that I'm leaving the Constantinople before it explodes."

"I can't allow _that_ thing aboard this ship." He continued sternly. Of course. Another narrow-minded imbecile. Clearly very common around here.

"Alright, I suppose I'll indulge you…" I sighed, folding my arms and staring at the man coldly. "Why can't I?"

"Are you having a laugh?" He remarked, annoyed. "In case you haven't noticed, mate, the station's being evacuated _because_ of these things."

"Excuse me?" I asked, no becoming quite defensive. "In case _you_ haven't noticed, this 'thing' isn't causing any harm to anyone, is she?"

"Look, it's not allowed on, alright?" The security operative snapped suddenly. "Now, if you don't mind, we still have hundreds of people to evacuate, so I suggest that you either get on the ship alone or get off!" I became quite irate at this, and was just about ready to take the man down a peg or two. However, I knew that it wouldn't do any good. I'd just end up causing a scene, and there wasn't time to waste on a scene right now.

"You know what?" I said calmly. "Forget it. Come on, Xena." I took Xena's hand and escorted her off the ship and out into the docking area.

"Thanks for your help, mate." I remarked sarcastically as we passed the security operative on the way out. He simply looked at me condescendingly.

"Bastard." I muttered under my breath. I would have said it straight to his face, but there were quite a few children in the crowd, so I decided against it. As soon as Xena and I had left the docking area, though, I refused to hold back any longer.

"What a fucking tit!" I shouted, kicking the metal door angrily. "What a stupid, arrogant, narrow-minded dickhead!" I kept kicking the hard metal until my foot began to hurt. Xena put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me. But I was just so infuriated. What were we going to do now? We couldn't take a shuttlecraft, we couldn't board a passenger liner. We… we were going to die here.

"I'm… sorry, Zee." I mumbled in dismay. "I couldn't get you out. And now… here we are." Xena smiled reassuringly, as if she didn't mind. As if it didn't matter, as long as we were together in the end. We still had fifteen minutes, though. There _had_ to be some way we could-

"Help!" A voice suddenly called from down the corridor. "Somebody help me!" I immediately sprang into action, darting down the corridor towards the voice. Xena followed, and we soon came across a young woman, seemingly in her late twenties. She was stood beside an open door, which led into a stairwell. She appeared in great distress as she slumped against a nearby wall, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to calm the woman as I approached her. She looked at me in dismay.

"My baby." She explained, choking up as she spoke. "My little girl, s-she's trapped."

"Trapped where?" I pressed, trying to remain calm so as not to upset the already clearly distressed woman.

"In the infant ward, three floors up." The woman continued. "A doctor came to help, said he'd go in and get her. Then… he got trapped as well."

"A doctor…" I repeated, suddenly becoming more curious about the man. "Which doctor?"

"I… I can't remember his name." She replied hesitantly. "Japanese man… Doctor-Professor Hankin… no. Henku… no. Oh, what was it?"

"Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi." I said distantly. Could it be? Yosuke was still on the station? The woman simply nodded.

"Don't worry, miss." I assured the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "We'll save your daughter."

"Oh, t-thank you so much." She stuttered. "I'll show you where the ward is." And with that, the woman dashed off up the stairs.

"Come on, Xena." I urged, gesturing towards the steps. She appeared reluctant at first, but soon followed along. We had to do something, after all. And if we weren't going to make it off this station alive… then we could at least make sure that this woman, and her child, did.


	29. XXIX

**XXIX**

With very little time left to waste, we traveled up the stairs with even greater speed than usual. At last I was on level ground with Xena, who apparently wasn't very good with the narrow steps, and kept stumbling every now and then. The young women we'd just met was also with us, intent on doing what she could to help. And to be honest, with about twelve minutes left before the whole station went up, we really did need all the help we could get. I was still trying to process the woman's words in my mind. Could it really be that Yosuke was still here on the station? She did say that the doctor who had tried to help her was Japanese, and that his surname began with an 'h'. And from what I knew about Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi, it made sense that he would have stayed here to help whilst the other doctors fled the station. I just hoped that he was alright. But as we thundered up the stairs in desperation, it seemed that we might all end up meeting the same end: being obliterated along with the rest of the Constantinople in about… eleven minutes, now.

"This way!" The woman shouted, pushing past Xena and I and making her way out of the stairwell. We followed hastily, hurrying down a dimly-lit corridor, once bustling with patients and doctors alike, now reduced to an eerily quiet passage. As we walked along down the corridor, though, we began to realise that things were not as still and silent as they first seemed. A flicker of orange light shone through a door further down, which was ever-so-slightly ajar. A faint smell began to fill the air, which was becoming clouded with grey fumes. Suddenly, the realisation hit me. It was a fire. I gestured to the others, who quickly rushed over to the door with me. I immediately pressed my face up against the door, peering through the crack with one eye. There was a long, wide room inside, consumed by a vicious fire. Through the flames, I could make out the shapes of medpods. They were much smaller than average, barely more than three feet long each. The truth was unavoidable. This was the infant ward.

"We have to get this door open!" I exclaimed, already reaching my fingers through the crack in an attempt to pry the door open. Of course, it was no use. Xena also joined in, her long, bony fingers getting a much better grip on the door than mine. Sadly, even our combined efforts were not enough to move the enormous slab of metal. The woman who was with us also joined in, but to no avail. The door simply wouldn't budge.

"What are we going to do?" The woman asked, releasing her grasp on the door after her knuckles began to turn white.

"I don't know." I said truthfully. "We need to override the door controls somehow." I looked over at the control panel beside the door, which, as if to spite us, was in perfect working order, despite the fact that the rest of the station around it had fallen into disarray. If we could just destroy the panel, the mechanism would fail, and the door would be much easier to open. But how could we do that? I'd left my energy burst pistol behind somewhere. I couldn't even remember where. But maybe, just maybe…

"Xena?" I asked, turning to the distressed Xenomorph. "You're the strongest here. Think you can break that control panel?" She turned her head towards the panel slowly, as if studying it carefully, in whatever way Xenomorphs study things. She walked over to it slowly, and tried punching it. It didn't work. She tried again, then tried kicking it, and even gave it a couple of hits with the end of her tail, but it sustained minimal damage. I didn't know what to do now. I was just about ready to admit defeat when I noticed that she had leaned down in front of the control panel. She positioned her head directly in front of the metal panel, her face about two inches away from it. Then, she opened her mouth slowly. Almost instantaneously, her inner jaws shot out, piercing straight through the panel with unbelievable force. Sparks flew as the controls failed, and small buttons and dials fell to the floor. I was dumbfounded by this display of force. I _let_ her put that tongue in my _mouth_ , for God's sake! She could have killed me!

Wandering back over to the door slowly, Xena smiled at me, as if seeking validation for her actions. I nodded graciously, although I was still a little taken aback by the strength that she had in those jaws. But there was no time for that now. I quickly turned to the door once again, sliding my fingers through the crack and gripping the warm metal firmly. Sure enough, as I pulled back on the door this time, it slowly moved aside. I kept dragging until the door was fully open, and looked into the enormous room cautiously. Flames engulfed almost every square inch of the vast ward. Over the loud crackling of fire, I could hear a faint groaning. I squinted through the flames, and soon discovered the source of the noise. Slumped against one of the medpods, wincing in pain, was the figure of a man. I knew who it was at once.

"Yosuke!" I shouted, dashing into the room, straight towards the fire. Xena and the other woman were about to follow me, but I urged them to wait outside, safe from the dangers within the room. I weaved around the flames carefully, and soon reached the spot where, sure enough, Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi was slumped on the ground, half-conscious. His clothes were tattered, torn and charred. His face was covered in blisters and burns, as were his hands. He was quite obviously in a very bad way.

"Matthew?" He whispered, slowly opening his eyes and squinting at me in a daze. "Is that you?"

"It's me, Yosuke, I'm here." I told him, taking his severely injured hand in my own.

"Listen, Matthew, there isn't much time." He winced, fighting back the pain as much as he could. "The station's falling apart, and the emergency prevention systems have all shut down. Hence the fire." I looked around the room at the flames, which were rapidly burning away at everything in their midst.

"Why are you still here?" I asked, turning back to Yosuke quickly. "All the other doctors have already gone."

"That's precisely why I stayed." He explained. "The other doctors have all gone. They've abandoned their patients in a desperate attempt to save themselves. I suppose I can't blame them really. Most of them have husbands, wives, children. Families that they need to get back to. But not me."

"So you decided to stay behind…" I continued for him. "To help those who'd been left behind by their own friends and family."

"You make it sound so glamorous." He chuckled, wheezing as he did so. "I assure you, I didn't do it for my own pride, or to make a statement of some kind. I simply stayed because people needed me to stay."

"I understand." I smiled. Yosuke had done a very noble thing, to say the least. He could have easily left with everyone else, but he stood by his commitment as a doctor: to help those in need. He hadn't put himself first. He'd been selfless. And this was how his heroic actions were rewarded?

"We won't just leave you, Yosuke." I said comfortingly. "We can get you help. We can-"

"Thank you, Matthew." He smiled warmly. "But I think we both know that it's far too late for that. My injuries are too severe. I'm dying."

"You can't…" I pleaded, squeezing his hand gently. "I won't let this happen to you."

"It's too late for me." He muttered, shaking his head slowly. "Hmm. I suppose the omen was right, wasn't it?"

"What omen?" I asked foolishly, not thinking straight in the heat of the moment.

" _Hinkon no shi_." He mumbled. 'Death in poverty'… A scarily accurate prophecy. For here I was, standing beside the last surviving member of the Hinkonnoshi bloodline. When Yosuke died, an entire family, a legacy, an era, died with him.

"Listen, Matthew…" Yosuke continued, his breathing becoming quite laboured now. "You need to… take the children. Get them out of here."

"Which children?" I asked, looking around the burning room desperately. "These medpods are all empty. Aren't they?"

"Most of the children have been claimed, yes." He assured me. "But… there are still two here. One of them belongs to… to the young woman who brought you here. The other… nobody came for him. And it's a little late for anyone to claim him now."

"We'll take him with us." I agreed. After all, we couldn't just leave an innocent, newborn child here to die, could we? "But we don't have a ship. Security wouldn't let us aboard the passenger liners, and the shuttlecraft are all gone. How are we going to get out of here?"

"Go to Passenger Docking Area Gemini-14." He explained, coughing violently as he did so. "There's a ship… a ship there called the Andromeda. It's smaller than most passenger liners, so it wasn't… wasn't used in the evacuation."

"What if somebody's already taken it?" I asked. That seemed to be the way with every other ship on the station.

"They won't." He grinned. "It's got a foolproof security system." I didn't quite know what he meant by this at the time, of course, but I decided to take his word for it.

"You'd best get moving." He continued, wincing painfully. "The clock's ticking."

"I can't." I told him sincerely. "We can't go without you." Tears began to well up in my eyes now.

"You must…" He told me. He coughed violently again, his lungs struggling to cope at this point. Finally, I gave in to his demands. He was right, after all. It was too late for him. All I could now was make sure that we got off this station before it was too late for _us_.

"Mark my words, Yosuke." I whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder calmly. "You won't be forgotten. I'll personally see to it that the name 'Hinkonnoshi' is remembered for decades to come. What you've done, what you've struggled for… it'll be remembered."

"Thank you, Matthew." Yosuke struggled. "I-" Suddenly, he placed a hand on his chest, and began to breathe incredibly heavily.

"What is it, what's up?" I asked. As if I didn't already know. I was desperately fighting back the tears right now.

"My heart…" He gasped between breaths. "I think it's stopped."

"You're… you're dead?" I replied.

"And so it is…" He remarked. I chuckled at this. Even on his death bed, Yosuke knew how to make a good sci-fi reference. No sooner than he had said this, though, his breathing suddenly began to subside. I knew in that moment that it was all over for him.

Reaching out with what little strength he had left, Yosuke grabbed the sleeve of my shirt, and pulled me in closer. Then, he whispered into my ear the last words that he would ever say.

" _Sayounara, Jounzu-san_." He whispered. I couldn't help but cry at this point. After all he'd done, for me, for Xena, for everyone. This is how it ended.

" _Sayounara… Hinkonnoshi-san._ " I replied. He smiled weakly. And then it was over.


	30. XXX

**XXX**

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and here we are at last. The thirtieth and final chapter of 'Xanthus'. Wait… no, it's not. Allow me to explain. Before I write a story, I always sit down and plan out the broader story arc, creating a brief description of what will happen in each of the story's thirty chapters. The problem with 'Xanthus' is that, no matter how much I thought it out, I always ended up with thirty-one chapters. I had hoped that somewhere along the way, I could have condensed two of the chapters into one. But alas, here we are at the end. And there's still so much more to go through. So, rather than writing an enormous, five-thousand word chapter to round off the story, I've decided to do something that I really didn't want to do: I've made the story thirty-one chapters long. Yes, I'm crazy, I know. But it was the only way. That being said, this _is_ the thirtieth chapter of 'Xanthus'. But it is _not_ the final chapter. That will be coming very soon. So read on and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

For several long seconds, I stared down at Yosuke's empty eyes in dismay. It didn't have to happen like this. After all he'd done for me, for Xena. For everybody on this station, in fact. Yosuke had been nothing but selfless, right to the last second. And now he was gone. The door behind me rattled as the others burst in, both of whom then looked around the room in shock at the sheer carnage before them.

"We need to go." The young woman exclaimed, running over to me and taking hold of my arm. I was still lost in deep thought.

"He's dead…" I said distantly, my mind a blur of confusion. Why had this happened? Why had any of this happened? Was it… was it my fault?

"We have to get moving!" The woman repeated. Suddenly, I snapped out of my trance. I looked around the room at the fire which was still raging uncontrollably. The clock was ticking, and fast. She was right. We had to move.

"Right." I announced, getting to my feet slowly. "There are two occupied medpods in this room. We need to find them." Both Xena and the woman with her began to search the pods without hesitation. I did the same. Most were either destroyed or vacant. Either way, they were empty. Finally, though, my eyes fell upon a pod which was still sealed. A blue light on the side of the pod flashed erratically. That denoted that the pod was occupied, but the life support system was failing. I wasted no time. I hurried over to the pod, flinging the lid open without caution. Inside, a small child was sound asleep, completely unaware of the danger around him. I reached out slowly with both hands, lifting the baby out of the pod as carefully as possible under the circumstances. Then, I made my way back over to the doorway. I stepped out into the corridor, heaving in breaths of the slightly fresher air out there. Then, I stood and waited for the others, cradling the child gently all the while.

A few moments later, Xena burst out of the room. Shortly behind her was the young woman who'd led us here. She held in her arms an even smaller baby than the one that I was holding in my own.

"Your daughter?" I asked, looking down at the sleeping infant as she rocked her back and forth.

"That's right." She replied, smiling tenderly at the child. "Her name's Amanda. What about that little chap there?"

"I don't know what he's called." I shrugged. "Suppose I'll have to give him a name at some point, though, won't I?" As I looked down at the baby in my arms once again, the corridor suddenly shook violently. We couldn't have more than five minutes to get out of here now.

"Let's get moving, shall we?" I remarked. And with that, we began our journey back downstairs, towards Passenger Docking Area Gemini-14.

Our trip back down to the lower decks of the Constantinople was considerably longer than the journey up had been. Because we were now carrying _quite_ fragile newborn babies with us, we were a lot more cautious on the stairs. Heaven forbid one of us should trip and fall. As we walked, I decided that now would be a good time for us all to fill each other in a little bit.

"I'm terribly sorry about all of this." I said to the young woman running down the stairs ahead of me. "It could have gone a lot smoother, admittedly."

"Hey, we're alive, aren't we?" She replied optimistically. 'For now', I thought to myself. The question was: could we keep it that way?

"I'm Matthew, by the way." I continued, trying to steer the conversation away from the seeming inevitability of our untimely deaths.

"Katie." The woman replied. "Well, 'Katherine'. But I don't like 'Katherine'. 'Katherine' should be spelt with a 'C'. But if it was spelt with a 'C' then I'd have to be called 'Cathy'. I don't like Cathy. Mind you, I… sorry, I'm rambling. I tend to that when I'm stressed."

"It's no problem." I assured her. After all, I couldn't blame her for being stressed. "Oh, I almost forgot. The Xenomorph's called Xena." I looked over my shoulder at Xena, who was, for once, bringing up the rear, rather than striding out ahead of me.

"Your girlfriend?" Katie asked, her voice trailing away as she walked through the doorway at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Well… yes." I replied. I was still strangely uncomfortable with that word, but it was an accurate descriptor. "That's not too weird for you, is it?"

"It's pretty weird." She told me truthfully. "But hey: She helped save my daughter's life. Who cares if she's weird? Nice to meet you, Xena." Xena growled affectionately in response. I glanced over at her, and saw that she was grinning smugly at me.

"She still thinks your weird." I said bluntly. Xena frowned at me in annoyance, but she knew I was just winding her up.

A little less than two minutes later, we were making our way along the curved corridor that looped past all the docking areas of the station. We had already passed Passenger Docking Areas Gemini-12, 11, 13 and 10 (Don't ask why they weren't in numerical order. I don't know). Now, finally, we reached a door marked Passenger Docking Area Gemini-14. Without hesitation, we made our way through the door and into the enormous docking area. I looked around desperately, my eyes soon falling on one of the airlocks. The green light above it was glowing brightly.

"That's the one!" I shouted, pointing towards the airlock. Katie and Xena made their way over to the entryway, with me following swiftly behind.

"It's locked!" Katie called whilst Xena tried to slide the enormous door open. "And there are no buttons!"

"It must be voice activated." I told her. She immediately handed her baby over to Xena, and began shouting 'open' into a small speaker grill on the front of the airlock. All the while, the entire station continued to shake violently around us. Time was ticking away from us at an alarming rate.

As Katie continued to shout 'open' into the speaker grill to no avail, I considered what Yosuke had told me just minutes ago. He said this ship had a 'foolproof' security system. But what did that mean? I looked up at the wide door of the airlock, and realised that something was stamped across the front of it in huge, bold white letters. It read 'Neolith Xerxes Tulmorian Public Transportation Vessel Andromeda'. Below that was another line, a Japanese translation of the text above. _It_ read 'N.X. Tulmorian _koukyou koutsuukikan-sen Andoromeda_ '. Below _that_ , there were a further two lines, both of which I could not read, although I recognised one of them as Hindi. Suddenly, things began to make sense.

"Oh, Yosuke…" I murmured to myself. "You brilliant, brilliant man!"

"What is it?" Katie asked, her voice slightly strained from shouting 'open' into the speaker grill too much.

"He's overridden the language controls." I explained. She still appeared confused, as did Xena, so I continued.

"This ship was commission-built by Neolith Xerxes Tulmorian." I told them. "That's a Russian Aeronautics Company based on Io. _But_ , the people who built it were most likely from BISCIT, the Board of Interplanetary Spaceflight of the Callistonian Indo-Japanese Territories. Now, the main languages of the Indo-Japanese Colonies are, of course, Japanese, Hindi, and Jan-Di, a weird amalgamation of the two not widely recognised outside of the Colonies themselves. Those are the languages written on the door here, along with English, since it's the Solar Standard."

"What's your point?" Katie asked, confused. She was obviously unappreciative of the inappropriately-timed lecture.

"My point is that the door will only recognise the official languages of it's administrative department, BISCIT." I explained. "Now, I don't speak any Hindi, and I sure as hell don't know a word of Jan-Di. So… _Aite kudasai!_ " Suddenly, the airlock began to hiss loudly. We all stood back cautiously as the thick, metal door slid open slowly. 'Thank God that worked', I thought to myself as we stepped inside. 'I'd have looked like a right tit otherwise.'

Suddenly, a loud screeching erupted through the docking area. I looked around, startled, trying to locate the source of the noise. My eyes soon fell on a nearby doorway which led out into the corridor. Something stood in the doorway. Eight feet tall. Thick, black exoskeleton. My blood ran cold at the realisation. Yes, it was a Xenomorph, that was unmistakable. But it wasn't just any Xenomorph. It was Xanthus.

"Everybody on the ship, now." I whispered, ushering Xena and Katie into the airlock. I handed Xena the baby that I still carried in my arms, and the two of them immediately stepped into the airlock, attempting to open the interior door. I turned back around slowly.

"Xanthus?" I called hesitantly to the Xenomorph at the far side of the room. He simply growled in response. I knew it was too late for him at this point. But I couldn't bear to leave him like this. My own child. My flesh and blood. Deep down, I wanted to help him. But I knew I couldn't.

"I'm sorry, son." I muttered, my heart sinking a little even as I said it. He growled angrily, and began to step closer. Suddenly, he broke out into a run.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. Clearly, he wasn't going to go down without a fight. "How's that door coming along, guys?"

"Almost… got it!" Katie replied. The door immediately swung open, and she and Xena stepped through, both babies in tow. I looked back, and saw Xanthus was now just a few metres away from the airlock. I immediately dived inside, slamming the enormous door behind me. Xanthus hit the door with a thud. But it wasn't over. He immediately smashed through the tiny window of the airlock door with his powerful inner jaws. Shards of broken glass flew everywhere, several of which landed on my legs. I winced in pain as the tiny shards pierced my skin. But I fought through it. I immediately scrambled to my feet, running through the airlock's interior door. He may have broken the window of the first door, but he still couldn't get in. I slammed it firmly behind me, desperately looking around the room I was now in.

The interior of the Andromeda was completely unlike the exterior. Outside, the airlock was made from rusting iron, with huge, exposed bolts jutting out here and there. Inside, though, everything was sleek and white. The floors and walls were completely free of stains or rust. The lights shone brightly, not one of them flickering. It made the Archimedes look like the inside of a dustbin. If there was any finer ship to escape from an exploding space station on, I'd love to see it. Speaking of which, we now had about… two minutes.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice resounding through the empty ship as we made our way towards the bridge. "Anyone there?"

" _Ohayo gozaimass!_ " A chirpy female voice suddenly bellowed through a speaker on the ceiling. " _Atashi wa Andi dess._ "

"Ah, _kon-nichiwa, Andi_." I replied coolly. " _Watash wa Mashuu dess._ "

" _Hajimemashite, Mashuu._ " Andi replied. " _Don-na goyoudeshou ka?_ "

" _Anata ga kinishinainara, kanounakagiri-eki kara touku ni iku hitsuyou ga arimass._ " I explained.

" _Hai!_ " She replied enthusiastically. " _Enjin o shidou shite iru_."

" _Arigato gozaimass._ " I replied. Both Xena and Katie looked at me blankly, both of them totally unaware of what I was saying.

"It's fine, guys…" I assured them. "I've told her to take us as far away from the station as possible."

"That's all well and good," Katie mumbled. "But it'd be nice if _we_ knew what she was saying." She gestured towards herself and Xena.

"Look, I'll try and override the language settings later." I assured her. "Right now we have bigger problems, don't you think?"

Suddenly, the ship started to quake gently. It's engines had just begun to fire up. Good timing, too. By my estimate, we had about a minute to reach a safe distance from the Constantinople. As the engines reached full capacity, the Andromeda jettisoned itself from the station. I looked out of a nearby window as the Constantinople slowly started to slide away from us. But we get far enough away? I glanced around at Katie and Xena, both of whom looked doubtful. I was counting down the seconds in my head, desperately praying after each one that we'd make it far enough. Finally, I reached zero. The station could blow up at any second now, and we still seemed to be very close to it. I braced myself for the worst.

"Look!" Katie shouted, pointing to the window in shock. I turned and peered through, in awe of the sight before me. A blinding light suddenly erupted from every single window of the Constantinople. Debris flew everywhere as the entire structure collapsed almost instantaneously. It was a sight to behold, that was for sure. A thunderous explosion, yet completely silent. A haunting image of bewildering destruction. And then it was over.


	31. XXXI

**XXXI**

*NOTE – Hello everybody! It is I, TheManFromMudos, and today is the day. Yes, after three long months, we have at last come to the end of 'Xanthus'. I'm sorry this chapter's been so long in the making, but I had to make sure that every last detail of it was absolutely perfect. After all, we have a sequel to set up here. But enough of that for now. For before the next chapter in Matthew and Xena's saga can unfold, the current installment must first come to an end. So, read on and enjoy. And please, don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this chapter, and of the story as a whole, as I'm always willing to listen to your praises and criticisms alike. Anyway, that's enough from me for now. So here we go for the final time. This is, and has been, 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

"So… that's that, I suppose." Katie muttered. I simply stared off into space, quite literally. Debris from the wreckage of the station continued to drift off in all directions. All that remained were a few huge chunks of metal, small panels of the wall and floor that had been fortunate enough to remain intact. It was hard to accept that everything had just… come to an end like this. Yosuke, Xanthus. Both of them gone. And now, here we were, Xena and I, with three others in tow, and no idea whatsoever about what we were going to do now. I looked over at Xena, who was clearly distraught by what had just happened. She looked down at the floor in dismay, her shoulders slouched and her arms hanging loose by her sides. I stepped over to her slowly, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. She couldn't hold back any longer. Slinging her arms across my back, she rested her head over my shoulder and began to whimper mournfully. I placed my own arms around her, hugging her tightly as she wept. I could only imagine what she was going through right now. She'd never even got to see him, not really. Her own son, and she'd never met him. For several long moments, we simply held each other, both of us silently consoling one another on the tragic loss we'd endured.

"Ahem!" Katie suddenly coughed loudly. I immediately separated myself from Xena, and looked over at Katie, who was awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with me. She still held the two babies in her arms, clearly becoming impatient with Xena and I for standing around feeling sorry for ourselves whilst she was trying to stop two newborn children from crying.

"Sorry." I muttered, now feeling very uncomfortable. Katie looked at me quite impatiently, but soon shrugged her shoulders with a weak smile.

"I don't mind the whole… whatever it is you've got going on here," She explained, nodding first towards Xena, and then me. "But perhaps we could save the emotional embraces until we've actually made it to safety."

"What do you mean?" I asked. She simply pointed to a duct which ran along the ceiling of the corridor. At regular intervals, the pipe had small panels along it's side, each of which bore a tiny LED display, similar to that of a calculator 'screen'. The displays all showed the same output: 5%. Suddenly, the realisation hit me. That pipe was a compact ventilation duct, pumping oxygen around the ship. And it was running low.

" _Andi?_ " I called out gingerly. " _Sanso roka no mondai wa nandess ka?_ "

" _Bakuhatsu ga watash no shisstem o hidoku kizutsukemashta._ " Andi explained remorsefully. " _Ouku no sousa ga chuudan sa remashita._ "

"What did she say?" Katie asked desperately, now becoming quite worried.

"The explosion." I told her. "We were too close to it. It's caused some damage to the ship's systems, including the oxygen filtration."

"So the oxygen's going to run out?" She exclaimed. She almost dropped the babies, she was so shocked.

"In about two hours." I nodded, wandering over to relieve her of one of the children. She handed the other one to Xena, which said a lot about how much she really trusted her. Xena was only too happy to take the child, but it didn't prevent her from becoming quite anxious with the situation at hand, as well. She might've been a Xenomorph, but even she couldn't survive for very long without oxygen. At least, I don't _think_ she could.

"Alright, here's the plan." I announced, already leading the group down the corridor hastily. "First, we find some hypersleep booths. Not only will they shorten the journey for _us_ , but they have near perfect oxygen recyc. One litre of oxygen can be recycled enough to last us twenty years."

"But that oxygen also circulates through the rest of the ship." Katie pointed out. "It could still be gone within a couple of hours."

"Not if we reroute the ducts." I explained. "If we can get Andi to close all the ventilation apertures on the circuit apart from the ones along the route between the air filtration system and the room the hypersleep booths are in, we'll reduce the oxygen leakage. Better yet, we'll completely isolate all the oxygen in the room we're staying in. That way, the booths'll be the only thing on the ship using the oxygen. We could sleep safely for centuries."

"Are you sure that'll actually work?" Katie replied bluntly. I looked over at Xena, who's facial expression delivered the same doubtful sentiment.

"No." I replied honestly. "But it's worth a try, isn't it?" Both Katie and Xena simply nodded. It was our best shot.

The search for the illusive hypersleep booths which then ensued was a struggle, to say the least. The Andromeda was much more… labyrinthine than most ships I'd ever known. The corridors didn't seem to connect to one another. Rather, they all simply came to dead ends. It was almost as if the entire ship was made up of one single corridor, which wormed it's way around the mass of rooms constantly. Eventually, though, we stumbled across what appeared to be the crew's living quarters. We found a room which contained four hypersleep booths, paired up in a bunk bed arrangement. Although there were technically five of us in all, the two children would be able to share a booth in a pinch. It wasn't as if we had the time to keep searching for more, anyway. No, this would have to suffice. I quickly ushered Katie and Xena into the room, shutting the door behind us with a thud. All that was left to do now was to tell Andi to isolate the ship's entire oxygen supply into this one room. Naturally, I was the one who had to ask her.

" _Andi, kanki dakuto._ " I snapped, already guiding Katie and Xena towards the hypersleep booths." _Kakuri dekimass ka?_ "

" _Kyokanaku sore o suru koto wa dekimasen._ " Andi replied apologetically. Permission? Who did she need permission from?

"Command override nine-seven-zero." I said sternly. Now that was a phrase that _all_ artificial intelligence units could understand.

" _Mochiron, saa!_ " She replied obediently. " _Ima wa dakuto o kakuri shite imass._ " Suddenly, a whoosh of cold air whipped through the room. I heard the sound of vent apertures sliding shut above the ceiling and under the floor, trapping what little oxygen remained on the ship in this tiny room.

"Did it work?" Katie asked, looking around anxiously as the sound of apertures shutting continued from all directions.

"It worked." I nodded, closing my eyes as the cold air swept across my face. " _Arigato gozaimass, And!_ " I was more than relieved. But secretly, I knew all along that it'd work. Command override nine-seven-zero never fails. You might have heard of it. The golden rule of artificial intelligence. Asimov's first law of robotics: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Once Andi realised that we were the only people on the ship, and that we needed the remaining oxygen to survive, she had no choice but to isolate the ducts.

So now we were safe. For the time being, anyway. I walked over to Katie and Xena slowly, a smug grin across my face.

"Never doubted me for a second, did you?" I beamed. The two women simply looked at me in disapproval.

"Oh no, we did." Katie exclaimed. "We both thought you'd get us all killed." Xena nodded in agreement. I have to admit, that hurt a little.

"Well, we're safe now." I assured them. "All we need to do is pop into hypersleep for a few months, and we're home."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Katie asked impatiently.

"We're waiting for me to tell Andi where we need to go." I explained. "I suppose you'll want dropping off somewhere, won't you?"

"Well, I live in Manchester." She explained.

"Manchester?" I repeated, slightly concerned. "As in Northern England, big city, _lots of people_ Manchester?"

"Hardly." She scoffed in reply. "It's a little village on Sedna. About 200 people live there."

"Oh, Sedna?" I remarked. _That_ was much more doable for me and Xena. In fact, with a population that small, it might even be safe for us to stay there.

Not so many people that her presence there would cause mass panic, but no so few that the two of us would go crazy in solitude.

"Manchester it is, then." I agreed. "You get the hypersleep booths ready, I'll tell Andi to plot a course."

"And while you're at it, why not tell her to speak English?" Katie added sarcastically.

"You worried we're talking about you behind your back?" I chuckled. She shot me a look then which told me that she wasn't amused. But hey, I spent years teaching myself Japanese, and what good would _that_ be if I didn't show off about it from time to time?

" _Andi?_ " I called out once again. " _Manchesstaa, Sedona no tame no kousu o settei shimass._ "

" _Hai!_ " Andi replied cheerily. " _Manchesstaa, Sedona no tame ni rokku sa reta zahyou._ " (Okay, I'll admit, that was slightly sensationalised. It actually took about ten minutes for Andi to find the co-ordinates for Manchester, Sedna and then plot a suitable course. But you don't want to hear all of that.)

"There you are, then." I announced, after Andi had finally locked on to a suitable course to Sedna. "Let's go home. Well, let's take _you_ home."

"How long will it take?" Katie asked, lifting the lid on a nearby hypersleep booth.

"From our perspective? A few minutes." I told her. "The Andromeda should easily manage Light-12. We'll be back within a couple of years."

"A couple of years?" She gasped. "So we'll be asleep for a couple of years?" Obviously, she wasn't accustomed to long-haul hypersleep.

"It's twenty-three light years!" I exclaimed. "Anyway, it must have taken you at least that long to get here in the first place."

"I wasn't in hypersleep on the way here." She explained. "And we stopped off to re-supply halfway. The longest I've ever spent in stasis is 6 months."

"Look, does it really matter how long you're in hypersleep?" I asked. "You'll be unconscious, you won't feel time passing, will you?"

"Fine." She muttered, clambering into the pod in a huff. "You want me to disappear from existence for two years, I will."

"That's the spirit!" I called as she slammed the lid down firmly. The locking mechanism hissed loudly as the pod sealed itself.

"No pleasing some people, is there?" I remarked. I looked at Xena, who was standing beside her own hypersleep booth nervously. It was different for her, of course. She'd _never_ been into hypersleep before. At least, not knowingly. She had no idea what to expect.

"It's just like going to sleep, Zee…" I assured her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "A few minutes, and you'll be awake again." She looked at me glumly, still reluctant to lie down in the pod. Granted, it was more than two feet shorter than her. But she'd just have to sacrifice two minutes of comfort for the sake of getting home safely, wouldn't she?

"I'll be right here when you wake up." I smiled, giving her one last hug to comfort her. She smiled, then slowly pulled herself over the edge of the pod. I helped lift her legs over the side as the thick glass lid came sliding down over her. Then, the booth was sealed with a hiss.

"Well, well, well…" I said distantly, wandering over to another of the open hypersleep booths in the room. "Looks like it's just the three of us, eh?" I stared down into the open pod, where the two children were sound asleep, breathing lightly. A thought occurred to me then, one which I'd failed to appreciate over the last half an hour or so. Us fleeing the Constantinople, running for our lives as the station collapsed behind us, it hadn't just been for us. It had been for these children. To ensure that they had a future. And now, it was our responsibility to bring about that future.

"Don't worry, kids." I murmured quietly. "We'll get you home safe. Me, Katie, Xena. We'll look after you. Amanda and…" My voice trailed off then as I realised that the other baby was still unnamed. We had to call him something, didn't we? Couldn't have him grow up without a name.

"How about… Xander?" I thought aloud. "No… we've had 'n' enough already, I reckon. Xerox? Wait, that's not a name, is it? Hmm…" I stared down at the tiny infant again, pondering over what his name should be. Finally, I reached a decision.

"Xavier." I announced proudly. "You, my son… are Xavier." The baby didn't even flinch, of course. He was sock-on, sound asleep. But for a few short moments, I stayed there, smiling down at my adopted son with pride. He'd do big things one day. I just knew it.

Reluctantly stepping back from the hypersleep booth, I looked on as the lid slowly descended over the metal casing. The pod hissed loudly as it was sealed, and then the room fell silent. Only one booth remained vacant now. I stepped over to the open pod quietly, pulling myself over the side and onto the bed. Reaching back over the side with one hand, I pushed down a small, square button on the control panel firmly. I held the button down for several moments, until a high-pitched beep resounded through the room. The glass lid immediately began to pull itself down over the pod, so I pulled my hand back to my side quickly. Soon, the lid had completely shut. A muffled hiss came from outside the booth as the lid was sealed in place. Then, another hissing was heard, this time inside the pod, as it was filled with fresh, cool air. I began to feel very tired, and closed my eyes promptly as consciousness slipped away from me. The last thought that went through my head was about Xena. After everything that had happened on the Constantinople, there was one thing that I had to remember. I had gone there to save her. And now she was safe. I smiled warmly, content in the knowledge that this was so. And then, I was asleep.

 **MEANWHILE, 23 LIGHT YEARS AWAY**

"Tango Tango, this is Juliet Delta. Do you read? OVER"

"Juliet Delta, this is Tango Tango. Loud, clear. OVER"

"Roger, Tango Tango. We've just received a transmission from a Deep Space Planetary Seeding and Colonisation Vessel called the… Archimedes. It's requesting entry into Earth orbit. OVER"

"Juliet Delta, so are thousands of other ships every _hour_. What's the problem? OVER"

"Sir, I don't think you understand. The request was automated. We've been unable to make contact with the crew, and even the ship's computer won't respond to our messages. OVER"

"I see. Well in that case, you'd better let them through. OVER"

"Are you sure about that, sir? What if-"

"Lieutenant, Omicron Alpha regulations clearly state that if a ship puts in an automated orbital request, it _must_ be granted. And if the crew aren't responding, that's all the more reason to assume they're in serious trouble. You will let them through at once. OVER"

"Roger, Tango Tango. Granting request now. OUT"


End file.
